UNIT: Night Wolf – Beginnings
by Tangerine-Alert
Summary: Doctor WhoUNIT crossover Harry Potter. UNIT: Night Wolf, a covert division within UNIT, Night Wolf would explore and research alien technology…and magic… and whatever other threats that come to pass...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All characters, names and all else belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot is mine.

Summary: This story shows the inception and creation of a division of UNIT seen in **Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space.** A quite long HP/UNIT story of mine, this has some events (from Sorcery) Chapter 11 onwards.

_**This is a totally separate story from anything else and can be read alone…**_

UNIT: Night Wolf – Beginnings

By Tangerine – Alert

**Chapter 01 – Meetings**

Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart walked along the quiet carpet of the United Nations in Geneva, he turned sharply at a junction and continued down a corridor through into the 'classified' section of the UN.

Classified as far as anyone who didn't know about it, didn't for good reason.

These were the halls, offices and records of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce.

A technically secret organisation, which had some publicity in the past in order to 'preserve it's knowledge as a secret organisation' which in practise meant that you couldn't ring up UNIT or ask to join specifically, but some people knew, and conspiracy theorists had an inkling. 'Plausible Deniability' was another of those words that was thrown about whenever he had asked.

The Brigadier had spent some time recently in Geneva, so much so he and Doris shared a small villa near by rather than him commuting the distance in between meetings.

UNIT had recently been called in to assist with Britain's 'space freighter' experiment, it had been a series of rockets, manned and designed to go out to the asteroid belt and mine certain elements and return, unfortunately like the Mars missions not all went to plan.

The Brigadier hadn't been present but had received several reports from all that were in charge, another alien race to add to the UNIT encyclopaedia the Kraals.

The cleanup was already in progress with UNIT dealing with the more 'interesting' elements.

_The Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith were also present…_

The Brigadier hadn't personally seen or met the Doctor since the business with the Zygons and Loch Ness…

The Brigadier walked into the meeting confidently, he was there for an informal meeting with many of the 'high ups' of UNIT to discuss some of UNIT's long term goals and other related matters.

"Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart."

"Field Marshall, Generals, Admiral…" Lethbridge-Stewart nodded to those collected only stumbling slightly by the few people not in uniform.

"This is Professor Winter, Professor Wynne and Professor Moore." One of the generals indicated the two men and woman. "Please Brigadier sit, this is an in formal discussion…of UNIT's current operating structure…"

"Sir…" The Brigadier started.

"We all have security clearance Brigadier, I'm not actually sure what would happen if we weren't…" Professor Winter trailed off.

"Brigadier, you've been at the forefront of some of the most prominent alien incursions onto Earth in recent years, including one of the events that precluded UNIT's creation."

"Yes Sir."

"You've done admirably…"

"Sir? Is there…"

"We've asked you here, as the commander of UNIT UK to answer some honest questions about your scientific advisor known only as 'The Doctor', he's down on UNIT UK books as a Doctor John Smith."

"Yes sir…" The Brigadier said slowly, he had on many occasion personally vouched for the Doctor, but it hardly ever came to this, a closed doors 'informal' formal meeting.

"Don't look so panicked Brigadier." Another of the Generals said gruffly but with a smile. "We know the good that this Doctor has done for UNIT, for this planet…but what is your honest opinion of him now?"

The Brigadier had initially only ever written one report which went to UNIT in Geneva, where he reported most things, but left some details out, mainly about the Doctor's 'origins' but following the Styles/Peace conference event he was asked to prepare a second report detailing everything, the heads of UNIT were quite forgiving when they learnt everything.

About the Doctor's 'exile' to Earth by his own people and following the Omega incident his gaining of freedom, the Brigadier did feel in some ways he was betraying his old friend, but in others he knew that the Doctor wouldn't always be around, and wasn't always around to save the,

"I believe that the Doctor assists us whenever he happens to be passing through…however there have been incidents that UNIT has dealt with where the Doctor hasn't 'turned up' to assist us."

"Can he be guaranteed to come should we need him using this…'space time telegraph'?"

"The Doctor did come during the Loch Ness business."

"The genetically engineered creature that was able to swim up the Thames?"

The Brigadier nodded.

"Brigadier, are you aware of the destructive acts that the Doctor has committed whilst under the employ of UNIT?" Professor Moore asked looking down at her file.

The Brigadier paused for a second thinking.

"I'm sorry…could you explain…." The Brigadier eventually said.

"UNIT operates to protect humanity, however we have also been research other means, less than conventional means of battling, and operating…" One of the generals enlightened.

"As a result all results of alien incursions have been researched to develop more effective counter measures." The Brigadier found himself nodding along appreciatively.

"I take it you approve Brigadier?"

"Yes General, sounds like a good idea, I've met more than one bullet proof alien…" The Brig chuckled as did most of the military members.

"However, whilst you have encounter many of these alien incursions personally much of the offensive weaponry and devices appear to have been removed, destroyed and in some cases 'boiled out' I believe was the phrase you used in a report."

The Brigadier remember this, it was when the Master had first turned up, 'Too late Brigadier, I've boiled out the contents'.

"Yes…I do recall this…but…" The Brigadier was going to argue but stopped himself.

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing various personnel movements within UNIT and the army in general and various purchases made by UNIT throughout the various years, assembled did agree that more training was required amongst other things.

--

That meeting with one of UNIT's most experienced officers, together with many other confirming reports from UNIT offices in France, Australia and Russia convinced UNIT to pursue an idea which had been brewing ever since its formation and renewed during the Recovery 7 incident.

UNIT would fund and provide for a new division of UNIT, which would both be backed up by Broadsword, UNIT's intelligence division.

UNIT had tried this once before with the Paranormal division, but it had been too small in scale and no real application for defence of humankind.

This new division would be code named Night Wolf, a covert division within the already secret organisation.

--

Night Wolf started as a very small division with a handful of people going over the various ins and outs of UNIT's operation. People were moved from UNIT's R&D division to this new command of a Professor Wynne, who had once headed the advisory committee at UNIT Geneva.

The British government keen to move away from their costly venture into space exploration which had turned into what some namely the United States called a 'joke in space', leaving Britain red faced about the whole ordeal.

A disused and still secret base was located in the heart of the Scottish highlands and was large enough to contain an idea which the Mars Probes had started.

--

Slowly the British government was able to weed out the people within the government agency known as C-19, those who had been working against the UN and the British government to procure and develop alien technologies for private institutions.

--

Slowly but surely Night Wolf developed.

References throughout this story to televised Doctor Who stories:

The business with the Zygons and Loch Ness is from _Terror of the Zygons_

The Kraals are from _The Android Invasion_

Styles and the Peace conference are from events that took place in _Day of the Daleks_

The Doctor was exiled to Earth and first appeared in _Spearhead from Space_.

The Omega incident refers to _The Three Doctors_

The Space Time Telegraph first featured on screen at the end of _Revenge of the Cybermen, _and called the Doctor to Earth for the events of _Terror of the Zygons_

The quote 'Too late Brigadier, I've boiled out the contents' comes from _Terror of the Autons_, and refers to a bomb that the Doctor neutralized.

The Recovery 7 incident refers to _The Ambassadors of Death_.

C-19 was first mentioned in _Time-Flight_

References to original Doctor Who novels:

Broadsword are first mentioned in a Doctor Who New Adventures novel _No Future _By Paul Cornell

UNIT's Paranormal Division first appeared in Doctor Who New Adventures novel _The Left Handed Hummingbird _By Kate Orman

Future chapters won't be as reference heavy.

As stated at the top this is a semi-prequel, to Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space…

However this tracks the origins of UNIT: Night Wolf and is thus more of a Doctor Who/UNIT X Harry Potter crossover, seen from UNIT's perspective, which is totally separate from Sorcery…

Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space can be found in my profile, however if you want to just read the chapters in which UNIT: Night Wolf appears: see chapters: 11 – 16, 22 – 23, 27, 39 – 44, 46 – 48, 50 – 57.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: All characters, names and all else belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot is mine.

**Chapter 2 – EV…**

Professor Paul Wynne, head of UNIT covert R&D command Night Wolf stood behind inside the control room of the Northern Highlands research facility as the technicians prepped the craft for it's maiden voyage.

EV1 or Experimental Vessel 1 sat on the run way and was the result of Night Wolf's first 8 months in operation, their first collected attempt to construct a ship that could transverse the outer reaches of the solar system with ease.

The British Space Authority was on standby as their 'safety net' for this flight…

"EV1 you are clear to begin launch procedures."

"_Roger Night Wolf, all systems ready, showing full power across all systems, we are go for launch."_

The craft had been 'constructed' from almost all alien materials, around that of a small Lear jet.

It was a long body most of which was taken up by the main engines which poked out the back like huge rockets. When there was no power, or directly before take off it sat on small stubby wheels however once power flowed through the whole thing the 'anti-gravitational discs' which had been cannibalised from a 'Dalek hoverbout' should enable it to leave the atmosphere without the huge rocket motors that were traditionally used.

Professor Wynne crossed his fingers as they got green lights across the board and the craft powered up.

"All systems are green, we're ready to launch." A technician sitting beside him stated.

"Launch EV1." Paul said calmly.

The power levels increased as the craft moved shakily down the runway, and left the ground, they always had success at this point, it was the movement between atmosphere and space which always caused problems in the past.

There was also the problem when the ship got to space proper should anything go wrong it would still take a few months for a space freighter to rescue them.

"_Anti-gravitational discs engaging, gaining altitude…"_

Professor Wynne looked down at the screen, EV1 had all the standard anti-radar equipment, however all air space around Night Wolf was clear and the British Space Authority knew of the test today.

There was a moment of static as the reports continued to come through.

"They're just about to break out of Earth's atmosphere Professor."

"Excellent pilot officer…"

"_This is EV1 do you read me Night Wolf, have exited atmosphere and now in geostationary orbit, repeat…._"

"This is Night Wolf, we read you…excellent work, are engines intact?"

"_Power levels are looking good, engines indict, powering down anti-gravs and ready to start main engines…on your mark Night Wolf."_

"Ready on your call EV1."

High above Earth the small craft, slightly longer than a US space shuttle powered up its vast and powerful engines, the mass of complex power systems channelled the energy into the engines and the craft threw itself forward as though flung from a vast sling shot, with about as much control.

"_EV1 to Night happened?" Wynne queeried._

_"Systems report mass failure of engines systems and control mechanisms…"_

_"Where are they?" He asked the officer by his side._

_"We're just getting analysis in….they are just beyond Saturn and continuing on minimum power."_

_The engines at least worked, the problem was it would take a long time for a space freighter to get out that far and return._

_"Can they…"_

_"Reports are coming in and proposals already searching and running sir."_

_That was what he Paul liked about working for UNIT, when ever there was a problem people were already working on it before he even needed to ask them._

_2 hours later they received a communication through the adapted Dalek hyperchannel comm. network._

_"__Night Wolf…power levels erratic…the engines worked at least. All manoeuvring down, we are currently at minimum power, antigravs are somewhere between non-operational and minimum power…_"  
"Can we respond?" The pilot officer nodded, they had been working on solutions ever since it had happened.

_"EV1, we read you, Night Wolf can bring you back…you're going to perform a textbook slingshot manoeuvre around Saturn…"_

_The plan was to have them manoeuvre around Saturn as turning around EV1 was easier said than done, they would then engage the engines for a controlled amount of time and be able to negotiate their way back to Earth._

_The only problem was without the antigravs they couldn't warp the fields around the ship to allow them to re-enter the atmosphere._

_That was where Plan B came in; the British Space Authority was prepping Recovery 10 which would intercept them…probably._

_Professor Wynne stayed in the control room for all the time that ship manoeuvred its way back towards Earth._

_They never made it, their transmission cut out some distance before they would come into range of Recovery 10's equipment._

_Then 6 hours after they should have entered into orbit a signal came through on an alternating frequency._

_"__Night Wolf can you read me, Night Wolf can you read me. Touched down…on moon…"_

_Recovery 10 which had stayed in orbit fixing a communications satellite easily orientated itself for the Moon._

_Less than 24 hours after they had taken off the two man crew of EV1 returned to Earth, most of the alien based technology would be recovered by a space freighter in the following months._

_It had been a failure for their craft but Professor Wynne and indeed those at UNIT Geneva considered it a success._

_--_

_EV20 sat in the bay, the 20th experimental vessel, which worked, Professor Wynn had to keep telling himself, in fact all 14 through to 19 worked with varying levels of success._

_EV20 was the hoped to be ship that would allow UNIT to go to the stars, well at least leave the confines of their solar system and the surrounding area._

_EV20 had been built like the others with a combined mix of alien and human constructed materials._

_Night Wolf had changed a lot since the first EV flight, now with EV20 it had all been moved under or inside the surrounding mountains, EV20 was simply too big to be kept anywhere else._

_Which had been the problem with the first EV's particularly EV2 through to EV12, they were too small to contain the power involved._

_EVs 1 through to 12 used variations on the ion powerdrive which was an experimental drive system that the British Space Authority had mucked around with, Night Wolf was able to perfect it for their drives with some application of other technology._

_However it proved to be too powerful for the small crafts they were using._

_UNIT had long since had a good relationship with several universities in the UK and set about a challenge for a group of architecture/physics & construction students, all of which were given small grants…and the standard Official Secrets Act and amended articles. They were asked to design a space craft using the specifications that the first 1 through to 12 had used._

_13 proved to be a mild success, it performed but still had most of the flaws of the original._

_It was when an explanation came from several of the groups working on the 'theoretical' project for the problem._

_**--/**_

_"It's too small, it needs to be bigger and with more power."_

_It seemed that the larger the ship was the more power it would require, which was simple enough, but as the ship got larger it got more stable and thus the power requirement would plateau into something manageable, it was still a huge amount more power than that of the ion drives. When UNIT told them that the groups nodded._

_UNIT did have another option, a more dangerous option, it wasn't any more dangerous than say…a nuclear submarine…_

_"Fusion Reactors Professor, one of the more useful things we were able to gather from the Cybermen's data core…all the tests, and the test reactor…"_

_"Test Reactor? I thought that experiment was put on the back burner until we sorted out the…"_

_The scientist nodded carefully. "But Professor remember when the storm cut us off from the power lines…"_

_Professor Wynn nodded slowly a worried look forming on his face._

_"Well you told us to get some power up in the facility…"_

_"So you stoked up a fusion reactor? I…I'm lost for words…" He shook his head._

_"It's meant that we've operated independent from the power supplies, it's clean running, and easy to shut down…plus there is the positive that as we aren't using such a large amount of power…"_

_Wynn nodded, he'd seen the amount of power Night Wolf used, it was…a large amount that was covered by the UN and the UK advisory committee._

_Wynn had wondered why they suddenly had a huge amount more money to put into the EV development._

_"So these fusion reactors you said?" He said conversationally._

_"One or more of these could provide power for a ship the size the design teams are talking about. Theoretically."_

_"That's what they're told." Paul muttered to himself. "Fine if you get the details together, make sure they're rated for the design teams and we'll see what we get back."_

_"Sir." Everyone seemed to call him sir, be it the military or the scientific personnel, he was in charge but it wasn't like he had a rank, he was a professor in physics and biology and a doctor of chemistry._

_But the soldiers, those with a rank seemed to want to address him via a rank and if not a rank then sir it was._

_**--/**_

_The end result sat waiting for the command._

_Professor Wynne turned as Air Marshall Steven Ballintyne walked into the control room._

_Professor Wynne looked over the man's uniform trying to recall what all the various things mean…_

_"Ah…Air Marshall…"_

_The man smiled at him, he was in his late 50s but still had wild eyes, as many of the test pilots of the EV craft did._

_Wynne had developed a good working relationship with the RAF, as more than once an EV had plummeted out of control before regaining altitude at the last moment, usually within view of the RAF._

_"Professor Paul Wynne, Air Marshall Steven Ballintyne…so this is Experimental Vessel 20?"_

_"Yes that's her." The control room sat behind several layers of protective glass and plastic to the side of EV20, and was one of the control rooms that sat on ground level, built into the side of the mountain._

_"So Professor what makes this one different from EV19 and the others?" The Air Marshall asked studying the schematics._

_"EV20 is the first vessel that incorporates everything we've learnt from the previous…attempts. Based on a new design from our 'theoretical design team'."_

_"You still haven't told them?" He chuckled. It was a running joke with the RAF pilots who'd tested EV14 through to 19, and even the ones before that, that the people designing them had no idea that their designs were flying around (or not)._

_"As you know…I assume you know that with EVs 18 and 19 we were able to set up a small observation base on the Moon."_

_This had been a feat in itself, but EV18 in particular had more cargo space than the British Space freighters. But it was limited by range, while it could do a lap of the solar system at full power in a little under a day, it's gravity control system was wobbly at best, also the hyperspacial engine still wouldn't fit inside a ship that small, considering its power requirements._

_EV19 was the attempt to improve on it._

_"Yes…an interesting experience for the pilots who signed up for the UNIT exchange program being told in a briefing 'today is a standard run to the moon' it's amazing what's been accomplished here Professor."_

_Paul smiled to himself, it was, after a little over 2 and half years they UNIT had a base off planet…._

_"EV18 is currently still being used to do runs to the moon, its power system had more or less been worked out…EV19 is our backup ship."_

_"Backup? In case she…"_

_"Runs into difficulties." Wynne said carefully._

_EV19 could just about use the hyperspacial engines it had installed._

_EV19 was like EV18 about 100 meters long and 20 meters high, however unlike EV18 it couldn't take any cargo, most of its space was given over to two small fusion reactors which would power the hyperspacial engines._

_On the numerous test flights it could leave the solar system and while in theory it could get to Proxima Centuri 4.22 light years from Earth no one wanted to try it, but it could rescue a ship, if need be._

_"So is she ready to go?"_

_"Yes…the reactors are at minimum, but all of them are ready to be fired up, the main engines have been checked and re-checked, they even have their course computed."_

_"Course."_

_"Close relatively, Proxima Centuri, that's where EV19 aimed for…"_

_"So it's within reach should…"_

_"Yes, EV20's been stocked up in case of anything…"_

_"Well you should get going Professor." Air Marshall Ballintyne said slapping him on the back._

_"Me? I thought, I mean I had word that…"_

_"That an RAF officer was coming to oversee the final stages, that's what I'll do…from the ground. This is your ship Professor, your command…"_

_"I...Thankyou Air Marshall…" Professor Wynne walked off dazed._

_Professor Wynne, dubbed Captain for this maiden voyage sat on the bridge of the huge craft._

_There wasn't much of a crew, much of the ship was empty, it had the capacity to have science labs, weapons, weapons analysis, linguistics, everything that UNIT and the UN could want for a ship._

_Except right now most of the ship was empty, there were people on the bridge and in the engine room and reactor plant._

_They had all worked on the previous EVs but EV20 was the biggest, with a huge piece of Dalek technology through the middle of the ship, it was in fact half of a Dalek saucer but it provided vital navigation and control systems to the ship._

_And it kept the cost down because of the way it managed structural integrity and gravity._

_The ship had no weapons but it did have shielding another perk of building the ship around half a Dalek saucer._

_"Report from reactor control, 1 through 4 ready and powering up." Professor…Captain Wynne was startled out of his thinking._

_"Signal to control room, tell them we're ready."_

_"Signal coming back, 'Good Luck Captain'."_

_"Channel power to antigravs and main engines, double check with RAF monitoring for clear skies."_

_"RAF monitoring stations report clear skies, however they warn of US maintenance on satellite on other side of Earth."_

_"Acknowledge RAF. Let's get this bird in the air." Wynne sat back into the chair._

_"Power to antigravs and main engines…we're rising…" The 'pilot' who sat to one side of him stated._

_Wynne at this point wished there was a window, however that was one of the things every engineer had stated 'windows make spaceships structurally unsound'._

_"Forward view."_

_In the place of windows two large screens dominated the front of the bridge._

_"Gaining altitude, breaking atmosphere in 2 minutes…"_

_Wynne sat back and hoped they wouldn't fall out of the sky, most of the early EVs had some sort of aerodynamics to fall back on EV20 didn't._

_It was large and blocky with three large engines at the back._

_There was a rumble through the ship as the view changed from clouds to black._

_"Entering high Earth Orbit."_

_Paul allowed himself to smile._

_"Good, move us over to the moon, make sure you keep an eye on the telescope patterns."_

_The other huge problem was it was quite hard to hide a ship the size of EV20._

_"Getting communication from base, we are go to engage hyperspacial engines. Encrypted message from UNIT moon base. No hull breaches, no damage, they are standing by with EV19."_

_"Good, power up all main engines put us behind the moon out of sight of anyone, then prepare to engage the hyperspacial engines."_

_It was a tense few minutes as everything was checked and rechecked._

_"Engine room reports they're ready…"_

_"Well…let's give it a go then…"_

_As the engines engaged all power on board the ship excluding life support and most of the navigation winked out as the powerful engines engaged and the ship shot into the hyperspace window, generated and maintained by its engines._

_Professor Wynne would reflect after the journey that using the engines was like being on a sinking ship during a thunderstorm generated by a blender riding a horse._

_They whole ship vibrated with the engines, everything was rattling, they lost gravity during some of the flight and a lot of the lights winked out, but navigation and the engines and more importantly life support stayed on, then they emerged and the engines disengaged allowing them to look around and cheer that they hadn't died._

_"So where are we?" Wynne asked walked around the bridge._

_"We over shot our target according to the sensors."_

_"By how much?" Wynne asked a little worried._

_"No more than .3 of a light year. It puts us within range of Alpha Centuri…sir…we did it…"_

_"We did it…" Wynne leapt out of his chair hitting the ship wide communications._

_"Congratulations ladies and gentlemen we just completed the longest space flight from Earth…" He started clapping and everyone was cheering._

_EV20 hung in space for a while, while the sensors gathered as much data as they could, however without a science department to analyse it that was all they could do, gather it._

_"So are we able to get back to Earth? Stars are all well and good, but I'd like to stand on the ground again before I shuffle off…"_

_"Well there are a few planets…"_

_Wynne stared at him._

_"On Earth then."_

_"Engine room is just reporting they've done a complete check, no damage…despite all the shaking, they're saying that it's just teething problems."_

_"Some teething problems…but we got here, now get us back…"_

_"Hyperspacial engines ready to engage all power ready to divert."_

_"Make sure we don't come in too fast…" The last thing Wynne wanted to do was come in and go splat against the Earth. That warning was in the training manual relating to course coordinates._

_The ride back was just as unpleasant, this time they came in short arriving in between Uranus and Neptune._

_"Congratulations to you all…we have just completed a successful flight with UNIT's…in fact Earth's largest and most capable space ship…"_

_There were cheers ringing out throughout the ship's small crew, and also back on Earth through out its base, Night Wolf had its first long range space craft…_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot (and a few characters and some objects) are mine.

**Chapter 3 – Magic**

Meanwhile elsewhere in Scotland…

Professor Jules Winter and General Brendan McGeoch were looking around their new 'research facility', which in actual fact was more of a castle.

"Well Professor does it suit our requirements?" The General said running a hand along the walls of the castle, much of the castle had been left un touched, while others had been retrofitted with modern lights and equipment.

"Yes…I think it will, really Brendan do we really have to call each other by rank?" Winter asked.

When they had initially started their search for a location of a command base of operations and research base for other technologies that didn't need a an enclosure big enough to fit a couple airships, General Brendan McGeoch had been irritated that the Professor had called him by his _name _rather than his rank.

But considering how much time they had worked together, to get to this point he had come to respect (and not get so annoyed) by the Professor's eccentricities.

Considering what happened in UNIT everyone developed certain eccentricities in order to cope with the stress, or that was what Professor Winter always said. Why General McGeoch was working with a Professor of Psychology and Biology had made sense when they started, and now…

The General shook his head.

"General…are you listening to me?"

"Honestly…Winter no. What were you saying?"

"I said now that we've got facilities to work from…and considering the word that I've been getting from the wizarding world I think it's time that we…or more precisely I start recruiting."

That was another thing that had put the General a little bit off kilter.

He had thought in that initial meeting with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that it was about UNIT developing counter measures to combat alien incursions without the magical Doctor around to save their arses each time aliens came, however that wasn't the only thing that this 'Night Wolf' command was going to be set up to deal with.

"Field Marshall…Professor." General McGeoch said as he walked into the smaller room, insider was Field Marshall Rogers and Professor Moore from their previous meetings, Professor Winter joined them a minute later.

"Good of you both to come…as you have seen Night Wolf will be set up to investigate many avenues of defence, exploration etc…there is however another problem, which the British Government and the French Government and recently the German and Russian governments have made us aware of." Professor Moore started.

"General I am sure this will be hard for you to accept…"

"That's what they said when I signed the amended articles…" He laughed.

Professor Winter merely nodded.

"Inside, some might say hidden within most communities are a group of individuals called witches and wizards…" McGeoch laughed, neither the two Professors nor the Field Marshall made any movement to laugh.

"Oh…"

That was now General McGeoch found out about magic, a whole set of communities who could use their 'wands' against the world's population, wipe their memories, even kill them with no outward signs.

Even projected energy weapons which sometimes left no scarring still showed up on an autopsy.

The investigation into this community had begun by individual governments some time before UNIT was ever set up. Some during WWII, some before.

Germany and England in particular conducted their own investigations into a man known from Hitler's own paperwork as Codename: Grindewald. Although accounts varied some fringe groups suggested he was an alien using alien technology.

Autopsy reports from British spies who had been able to see or preside over autopsies of bodies that had been killed by this mysterious man had found no signs of death, except that the bodies were dead.

Several witnesses had reported seeing a green light encompass the bodies before they fell to the ground.

After the war everything had been classified or it had been destroyed, all evidence of this mysterious man, who had apparently died in unknown circumstances.

By the time UNIT had been set up most of this information although collected had no where to be placed within normal governments and really did fall under the purview of the 'unknown' which UNIT even after its first few years in operation had become to be known for, by the people within the governments that knew about UNIT, information was passed on to UNIT in Geneva and slowly but surely it came to be collected.

It wasn't until a young Professor of Biology and Psychology had read all the reports and recognised it for what it was that the pieces had started to come together.

The British Government had made a plea to UNIT to help with their 'problem' of a terrorist group which had started to appear in small communities, around the same time which the possibility of Night Wolf was being investigated. Professor Winter prepared a report and hoped he wouldn't be dissected.

"Professor Winter was a part of this community…however because of varying reasons he left…."

"Because I didn't have what they could ascertain as 'magic'. Also I had something _they _didn't want to think about." Winter muttered.

That sentence had come back to…remind McGeoch, after a day of scouting out facilities Winter said he had 'take care of things' that night, McGeoch thought he was going to the pub.

But when Winter walked in the next morning, his clothing torn and a tired but wide eyed expression the General had wanted answers.

"A werewolf." McGeoch would have sat down, had he not already been sitting.

McGeoch was pouring them each a drink from a hip flask which seemed too small to contain such liquid.

"That's another reason I have nothing to do with the 'wizarding world'." He chuckled lightly.

"Why, surely…"

"You would think so, but no…being a werewolf, is seen by various members with the…the ruling government as being an 'evil' creature, despite the fact I'm on a wolf at night during the full moons…"

Their need for an old building stemmed from both Winter's recommendation and from a UNIT scientific advisor, not the Doctor though, he hadn't returned to UNIT for some time.

It had been a throw away comment by a female visitor who had been assisting in France with NUIT "Older buildings luvvie, they stand up against a lot more forces…the older the building the more _protection _they afford against _those _sort of attacks."

The large castle sat on a piece of land with what could be a moat or a lake around it.

It had been abandoned for some time, it was discovered that it had been left to the UN at some point with its land and grounds, all unoccupied, it was simple enough to transfer it to UNIT ownership.

Jules Winter walked through the cool London streets towards a particular bar.

It was distinguished by no distinguishing features, inside an old pub whose history had long since been lost to the winds of time.

He was meeting there with several people, friends some might say.

Some were werewolves who like him had gone out into the world, others were squibs and others were the 'undesirable' mixed races of the wizarding world.

Winter and his mother had left the wizarding world shortly after his 11th birthday when it became clear to his father that he wouldn't be going to Hogwarts he had lived with being a werewolf for 6 years at that point, so not being able to be part of the wizarding world, which would as quick as kill you as look at you.

His father had given his life to help him escape the 'hunters', wizards who made their life hood hunting werewolves, no matter that they were people during the day.

"Winter, how good to see you." Jules was greeted with a warm handshake from a man perhaps 50 years his senior, he had helped Jules through a many transformation, not a werewolf himself, not even a 'wizard' within the limitations of the wizarding world but he had seen the inner workings because of family relations or some such.

"Andrew…I'm glad you could meet me…"

"Winter, it's always good to see someone who got out of that…world, and made a success of himself. The UN…"

"Not as though they'd ever think anything of it 'silly muggles' and all that." Winter muttered.

"Always the way, what're you drinking? Your usual, Vodka with lots of ice?" Andrew asked smiling at him.

"No…a nice…or an unfriendly whiskey." That was one thing that Winter had developed a taste for, spending much of their time searching out old estates and areas around Scotland and Northern Ireland, he had come to appreciate a good and an unfriendly whiskey.

"We'll make a man of you yet." Andrew chuckled as they sat themselves into a booth at the very corner of the shadowy bar.

"So Winter, what do you want with an old horse like me?"

"There are plenty other people out there that are old and you're certainly not one of them Andrew…in fact I've come with an offer."

"You? Or the United Nations?" Winter smiled, Andrew had always been like a sort of uncle to him and his mother as they were getting re-set up in the muggle world.

He'd helped him through the 'reintegration', Andrew had supposedly worked in many fields, before settling down with 'a few properties, I'm a landlord…much more deserving title than some of those so-called purebloods'.

"The UN…sort of…I'd like to offer you a job…"

"A job, for an old landlord like me?"

"That's not all you do…and I remember you used to complain to me that lording over things got boring…"

"That's why I kept busy with pups like you." He smiled at Winter, it was true that Andrew and others tried to help as best they could, both to squibs and werewolves cast out by the wizarding world without any means to protect themselves.

In many ways the British wizarding world hadn't moved beyond the 1700s, with the same morals, or lack of morals within their societies.

"Andrew I'm sure you've heard the reports coming from the wizarding world?"

"Reports of vigilante groups, terrorising muggles and wizards alike, the ministry's ignoring it for the most part, sending in to oblivators."

"Yes…but it's not like the last time, the government knows its going on…"

"Does it? This is where you come in?"

Winter unfolded the Official Secrets Act and the UN amended articles and pushed it towards Andrew with a pen.

"What's this Winter?"

"Just something my…bosses need people to sign…it's just a precaution, a technicality…If it's any help I've signed it."

Andrew looked at the pen.

"Not a blood quill?"

"Those have been illegal since…"

"Since Grindelwald, yes, can I read it?"

"Of course, I'll get us another round."

Andrew was looking at the document carefully.

"Better make it doubles….I sense this is going to get complicated…"

"Probably." Jules Winter admitted.

Having returned with another set of drinks Jules looked around the pub, sniffing the air he could detect quite a few other werewolves, humans, and other stuff.

The barman had affectionately called this place the Cast-Offs everyone here had been cast off by society, mainly the wizarding society.

Andrew finally signed both pieces of paper. Jules placed them inside the black 'surveillance proof' envelope and slipped it into his pocket.

"Now that's signed I'm liable for anything that I might say, do, write or otherwise tell someone else. What is this job you're offering me…I must admit it is a little exciting Winter…and all this from a lad who said…"

"I know Andrew, 'I want to understand why…'…"

"Yes, lad…did alright for yourself too I might add."

"Thanks."

"So?"

Winter looked around and pulled out a matt black box about the size of a pocket dictionary and flicked a button.

"What's that?"

"Counter surveillance device, just in case."

"So?"

"There is within the UN a secret taskforce…to deal with the unexplained, the unknown…"

"Wizards?"

"Go further…" Winter said carefully.

"Foreigners?

"Go further." Winter pointed roof wards.

Andrew's eyes went wide and mouthed 'aliens'?

"Yes…well I made myself known to these people…" Andrew made some noise.

"After discovering the many, many reports from WWII…anyway, this special force has been set up to investigate, research and develop forms to defend humanity…with any and all means. The need has increased, the British Government asking this taskforce especially for assistance in combating them, and developing what they've got."

"And what have they got?"

"More than you could ever know." Jules said honestly thinking of the EV projects.

"So what do I have to do?"

"Well…"

That was where it began, slowly but surely they started to recruit people for the castle, it didn't have a name, technically it was Night Wolf Command, or would be at some point, but for now the individual research teams, both at the Northern Highland facility and the Castle facility ran independent of each other.

General McGeoch walked around 'his' castle, it felt odd to be in charge of a whole, very large building. Plus it wasn't just Winter, McGeoch had some areas that he had to find people for, a weapons expert, communications, various botanists and naturalists.

Not just for his command but for research and eventual placement, supposedly on one of the final EV's, when it got off the ground and was able to come back.

They had more or less been focusing all their attention on those ships, Night Wolf command needed to start searching for experts in a dozen different fields.

It was General McGeoch's job to find them.

Brendan McGeoch was a level headed person, despite all his training and combat experience, and while he was tempted to fill the castle with military experts, if there was anything he had learnt from Winter it was that sometimes people with eccentricities worked to your advantage.

Over the course of many months Winter and his friend 'Andrew' whom McGeoch had forged an odd friendship with being much older than Winter.

Winter and his friend had found many willing personnel all of who had experience or at least a familiarity with the 'wizarding world' and they helped to establish various databases and manuals for UNIT to refer to as the attacks around England began to increase.

The British Government had called on them once, to help with the crisis, Night Wolf was a young organisation and had nowhere near enough force to combat these 'Knights of Warpurgis' with any effectiveness.

The most General McGeoch could do and did was compile a long and thorough report covering more than 1000 pages with various ideas and suggestions.

But Night Wolf at that point was just too young to assist in any major way and the war in the wizarding world had barely started….

**I'd like to say thanks to everyone who's been reading (and reviewing).**

**The magic element / 'Harry Potter' universe will continue make greater appearances, although there will be a chapter here and there not totally devoted to the HP universe.**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 4 – A new player returns to the game**

General McGeoch stared at the reports, Night Wolf Command was…functioning, which was the only way he could put it.

They already had ground units out assessing the situation that was quickly hotting up in Britain and overseas.

The report from the newly established and what was more staffed 'Sorcery Division' lay on his desk along with multiple other requests and forms to sign.

_Death Eaters, Voldemort and the Ministry continue to prosecute, detain and execute all persons who are not 'pure wizards'. _

_Death Eaters and leader Voldemort have been witnessed torturing and killing civilians both within magical communities and in mainland Britain, sporadic attacks have been taking place through Northern Ireland, France, Russia, Germany and Spain._

_Ministry of Magic UK has set new rules for aurors…._

General McGeoch set down the report and picked up his own copy of the 'Night Wolf Encyclopaedia' which was a large folder with different pieces of paper, odd shapes and bad photocopies and everything, it was the how to, and the go to guide to most of the work they were doing, despite Winter's briefings it was still a lot to take in and accept on a day to day basis.

_Aurors: Part of Ministry for Magic UK, the Law Enforcement arm of the Ministry for Magic, witches and wizards trained to combat any threat made to the magical world. _

The General picked up the report again.

…_has set new rules for aurors they have been given orders to detain or kill any 'dark creatures', there are now speciality teams out hunting on full moon nights. _

_Surveillance teams have reported that auror 'hit squads' are storming known werewolf homes and safe houses eliminating all who inhabit; before full moons, despite the counter measures many have in place._

McGeoch slammed down the report, they had as many trained teams out there as they could made up of UNIT personnel that had been added to Night Wolf's ranks, and other members of the magical community and others who Winter and Andrew thought could help.

But these teams still needed a commander out in the field, someone who could easily make decisions based on extraordinary odds and fantastical events…and most of those that could cope with it had already been sequestered to parts of Night Wolf or were in charge of their own squads at UNIT.

General McGeoch sat back and signed a few more requisitions, they were for extra materials, extra equipment everything like that.

Night Wolf Command used a lot of resources, but they were setting up a whole new command, a research, development and training centre of operations, which both Geneva and the British Government were willing to fund, just the latter not officially, not since they saw the EV project and their request for 'plausible deniability', now Night Wolf dealt with the armed forces.

McGeoch looked at another report it was actually from normal UNIT business but they had forwarded him a copy 'just in case', it had involved the Doctor which had meant a full security sweep of both facilities, Night Wolf was something UNIT didn't want the Doctor interfering in.

But it had come of nothing, it was an extra-dimensional incursion, the prisoners were being interviewed at the moment as they seemed to possess some sort of magical knowledge which could assist Night Wolf in its current situation.

But there was also another name that had looked familiar a Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, that name was familiar in a lot of UNIT training manuals and basic background briefings.

And was just the sort of person who could help with the situation that McGeoch was facing, someone who would no doubt be able to command a unit and liase with Night Wolf Command, and after his recent taste of UNIT again…

**--/**

Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge Stewart walked through the UNIT building in London, it was for the most part an unassuming building on the bank of the Thames, it had had many, many refurbishments since he had commanded here, he was being led by a young second Lieutenant through the dark grey corridors, he motioned through a door which read 'Conference Room 2'.

Inside it was light lit from some high windows, a large round table dominated the room, two Generals were waiting for him, he saluted before taking a seat opposite him.

"I was just reading a report, Brigadier about your recent adventures." The first General whom the Brigadier had met before he realised.

"General?"

"Lake Vortigan, Morgaine, _magic_." The General…General McGeoch smiled at him.

"Generals…I was already debriefed…"

The second General smiled and nodded to McGeoch.

"Brigadier…I'm here to…offer you a job."

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart laughed, he had been happily not in UNIT for several years even after his 'encounter' with the Doctor whilst he was teaching he didn't get the want to go back.

"I'm retired General…despite my recent action…why should you want an old soldier like me?"

"You're not that old Brigadier…and for this battle you are what we need…"

"Battle? I'm sorry General I didn't see any Daleks landing outside…"

"Or Cybermen crawling out of the sewers?" The General countered with a smile.

"Yes…"

"Have you perhaps noticed the attacks, houses burnt down, houses belonging to quiet people, families who were part of the community, perhaps unknown deaths no sign of death, except they were…"

The Brigadier nodded slightly, Doris had pointed it out to him, he'd thought he was being paranoid, seeing a conspiracy when there wasn't one, it sounded like some of the counter stories they had come up with when he was in charge of UNIT, himself Benton, Yates and the Doctor and Jo or Liz Shaw sitting around with a mug of cocoa trying to come up with a plausible explanation for why there was a mass recall on daffodils, or why shop dummies had come alive and killed people…

General McGeoch passed Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart a few sheets of paper.

"Sign that and we can speak further."

The Brigadier looked down at it.

"What is it?"

"UN amended articles." The other General stated.

"I already have the highest security clearance."

"This is _higher_ than the standard high security clearance Brigadier."

Alistair carefully read through it, it was the standard sort of UN clearance wording, but with a lot more sub clauses he got to the end and signed it.

"Does this mean you're willing to join us Brigadier?" General McGeoch asked slowly.

"I'm willing to listen…"

"You've recently encountered Morgaine who supposedly used magic…"

"She was from an alternate dimension though Generals…."

"Yes…however there is also magic…here on Earth…" He smiled "And I'm not talking about hats and rabbits. There is a war being fought on British soil…and UNIT…in particular my command is the one who has to deal with it…"

The Brigadier listened calmly as the list, the details in fact everything that this Night Wolf was involved in did, and tried to help with, even before the General was finished he'd decided he wanted to join up again…Doris might not be pleased, but she always said he was most happy when he'd been in UNIT and that 'even joining them for one adventure had made him seem 20 years younger and put life back into him'.

"General…I'm willing to join you, to help any way I can…it's a bit surprising…the next thing you'll be saying is we've got space ships ready to fight off the aliens before they touch down…" He laughed, General McGeoch turned to the other general receiving a nod.

"Actually Brigadier…you might as well know…"

Later, after being brought to Night Wolf and watching the footage of the EV20, the Brigadier felt like he needed a drink, he already had one in his hand he and General McGeoch were sitting by the fire in the General's office.

"A bit of a shock Brigadier?"

"Just a bit sir…so that was what that meeting…"

"It had started somewhere before that, but your testament as a UNIT veteran helped…as you can see while we appreciate the Doctor's help…he does pose a threat to this command and the projects under its purview…"

The Brigadier nodded, he valued the Doctor as a friend no matter what face he wore. But he remembered the looks the research boys used to give the Doctor who would sometimes go out of his way to disable alien technology stating 'you humans already have enough bombs to crack this planet in half…and I would kindly like you not to try, while I'm on it thankyou Brigadier…'.

Of course whenever he'd challenged the Doctor he'd always said 'That's why I'm around Brigadier…' despite the fact that when he could leave _he did_, he returned his companions, more often than not and had helped out more times than they could count…obviously someone had counted and realised UNIT needed a safeguard…but the ship was way beyond…

"How was it built?" He'd been given the background to the Highlands facility, but he didn't ask questions till he saw it…

"Combination of alien technology and normal technology…we're using EV20…I think they're coming up with a name now for her, well they're going to use her to find other materials so we can built more..."

"For defence?"

"And exploration…"

"But the cost…?"

"That's the thing, and the size, we're already looking for outside help…"

"The Americans?" The Brigadier said with some distaste, after Bill Filer the Americans had shunned any UNIT involvement preferring to deal with any problems themselves. They'd also laughed as Britain's Mars program and space freighters preferring to stick with their 'Sky Lab Research Facility' not that that had been a success.

"No, definitely not…" The General said immediately. "After everything no…but since their Space Lab fell onto Australia they've been distancing themselves from the Americans, Professor Wynne, the chap in charge of the facility has been putting together a proposal with Geneva, they think it can work."

"To construct space ships?"

"To construct a whole other construction facility, for larger ships so the reports say…"

"Larger?" The Brigadier couldn't believe it, the ship he'd seen, well it was as big as some alien ships.

"So the designers say EV20 is the smallest they can go, to fit in the required armaments engines and whatever…and with the next ships they will need more home built technology, our equipment's bigger than the Dalek's so its bigger."

"That was a Dalek…"

"Recovered saucer, I've got a report somewhere from one of my team which is looking into a projected energy laser for hand held use…"

"Like the Dalek's ray…?"

"Yes…except even if we did build it, you'd need a truck to carry the power…"

"Well enough talk…when do you want me to start?" the General smiled, the Brigadier was probably only a few years younger than him, but seemed to have limitless energy.

"Sleep on it first Brigadier, let it all sink in, we've got a chopper standing by in the hanger."

"Hanger?"

"Tomorrow a full tour and a full debriefing and then you'll learn all…"


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 5 – Deals**

It was the naming ceremony of EV20, a lottery of everyone who had been involved with the project put in their choice for a name Professor Wynne was there to choose it.

"Ok everyone the name of our new ship is…" He pulled out the piece of paper from the cardboard box. "Firefox…" There were some blank looks around the crowd.

"Ok who put it in?" He said with a smile…slowly someone raised his hand, was the pilot who had guided the ship on her first flight.

"Umm…it was me Professor…you can choose another…I don't mind…"

"Nah just curious…Everyone grab a drink and then we can winch up a bottle, to christen her…" He pointed upwards, they were standing beneath the front of the ship high above them.

He handed a glass to the officer.

"Well?" He said with a smile, pocketing the piece of paper.

"Umm…well fire…because it symbolises power, rebirth…but I didn't want something like Phoenix…considering what's happening out there…"

They all received reports from Night Wolf command about the magical fighting that it was trying to combat and analyse.

"So umm, fire for powerful…Fox because it's quick animal…and since we're Night Wolf I thought Firefox was a good contrast…" He smiled.

"And?" Wynne asked suspecting it was something else.

"And…" He looked a little sheepish…"Fox was my UNIT classification on my first mission…"

"Knew there was a story…So Firefox…." He turned and shouted to the Sergent operating the winch. "We ready Sergent?" There was a nod. "We'd better stand back."

They walked back to where the crowd was chatting. "Alright winch it up…"

A huge bottle of champagne was winched up inside the huge closed in shipyard like a gigantic air ship shed.

They all put their safety glasses on and watched the bottle swing towards the ship.

"The Firefox!" Wynne cried, everyone cheered.

**--/**

In Geneva Professor Moore and her colleagues were discussing the…not so much a problem but the interesting situation they were now in.

UNIT now had a spacecraft which very soon would have weapons that could hit any city on Earth sensors which could do the same and look closer than any satellite.

There was also the issue of development of said technologies, all of which UNIT would need to outsource to have happen efficiently.

There was also the proposal from to bring the Australians into the Night Wolf project, in particular the EV project.

"The Australians, the Prime Minister and the Head of their Military want to see EV 20…Firefox before they commit to anything."

"Are they aware they have to sign the non-disclosure agreement?"

"They are…"

"Very well clear it with Wynne and set up a meeting, minimal amount of personnel from their side, get the Marines to escort them…make sure they've…" Moore sighed noting it down in her file.

"They will have."

"I have a suggestion from one of the ethics departments, regarding the weapons and sensor systems…" Moore said passing around the small group a memo. "It details basically that in the event of an alien incursion on Earth Firefox's and any other ship may be able to turn their weapons towards Earth…or any other planet. However in the case of Earth all activity will be logged and the Captain of the vessel must state that the crew are doing so under their order…the same sort of thing we're currently using…"

"What's to stop someone from exterior influence gaining access to Firefox?"

"Sir we have the best screening process in the world…everyone is checked thoroughly before joining UNIT."

"Very well…"

"From the United Kingdom, where Night Wolf is currently located, for future ships, including Firefox…as they are primarily staffed with UK and other personnel, made with UK materials the suggestion is to give them a Royal classification…" Moore said as she passed another memo around, this suggestion had come from the high ups in the UN, the ships would be a UN ship but be 'owned' by their respective country of origin.

"This is an interesting proposal, does this have something to do with the other problems?" The man in the military uniform smiled, Moore raised an eyebrow.

"Not problems sir, but UNIT will continue to provide funds and the technology to construct the ships, and will be in control of them to a point but there has been suggestion that it would suit our members better to have some independence in their ship construction."

"Even though they don't know anything about it."

"Yes. There is a suggestion to name them…Royal Space Core Ships."

"Shouldn't that be Corps?"

Moore smiled, that was…actually she wasn't sure who had commented on that.

"Core as in central as these ships are the centre of the respective countries space ventures…"

"Interesting and the countries?"

"UK and Australia."

"What about the US?"

"As they refuse to sign the amended articles, and according to many…reports they allegedly attempted to sabotage the early space freight missions…"

"You don't trust them?"

"We would prefer to open negotiations with Australia who are more open to Night Wolf, incidentally they already have some knowledge of the wizard world."

"How?"

"We're not sure, we can't discuss that until the amended…"

"Are signed."

"Very Well…Professor Moore, I'd like you to be at the Highlands facility when the Australian delegation arrives, smooth over any bumps that may occur…"

"Sir…"

**--/**

Glenda Moore marvelled at Firefox, they were still writing in the RSCS lettering on port side of the ship, the UNIT logo was on the starboard side, both near the front of the blocky ship.

It wouldn't probably ever win any awards for the best looking ship, but it was architecturally sound, strong and it could leave the solar system, in less time it took to cook a roast.

That fact she couldn't believe despite reading the various reports that in the time it took for her guests to get here she could have gone and come back to another system.

"Amazing." She said looking up at it.

"Glenda."

"Paul, she's an amazing ship."

"You've had the tour?"

"One of your people showed me around."

He smiled looking up. From the ground it was hard to appreciate it as a ship, you couldn't take it all in.

"How long till they arrive?"

"Your guests?" Professor Wynne asked vaguely.

"Our guests Paul…the Australians…"

"Yes…what about…"

"I signed the papers before I left, extra funding and an extra bay…I don't know where you're going to put it…" Moore sighed seeing Paul smile.

"We've got people doing scans on the other side of the mountain in the valley, we can link the this together with the other, when it's built…"

"Good, and Firefox?"

Paul laughed.

"What?"

"So weird calling it that, it's been EV20 for so long, now it's got a name…do you know we've already got some teams coming up with new designs, they're out of university…."

"I know, I signed a lot of the approval notes…something with all this legislation we're hoping to move away from Geneva…"

"You said…When I showed them EV19 and 20 they…some of them squealed…they couldn't believe that we'd built it." He laughed.

"It's almost beyond belief…even after all the alien invasions…and the magic…"

"How is that?"

"Going? McGeoch brought someone into help him."

"Who…not the Doc…"

"Absolutely not you know our position on him….No someone else…Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart."

Paul laughed again.

"They should get on, The Brig should enjoy being out in the field again…"

"Did you know him?" Professor Moore asked curiously.

"Read his mission reports…" Paul said as a Lieutenant ran over.

"Sir the chopper's inbound 10 minutes…"

"Thankyou Lt."

"Let's go greet them…Professor Moore."

"Professor Wynne…"

Pulling their jackets around them they walked outside the cool ship yard and out into the valley it occupied, the wind was light but it was still freezing up here.

A small chopper was making its way over the mountains, being buffeted slightly by the wind. Minutes later it touched down, two men and 3 marines stepped out of the chopper. The Prime Minister of Australia and the chief of the defence force of Australia walked up to them shaking their hands.

"If you'll come this way sirs, we'll step out of the cold…" Professor Wynne led them to the small door which encased the Firefox.

It took the two visitors a moment to realise what was inside the vast structure.

Professors Wynne and Moore would remember what the Prime Minister said when he saw the Firefox.

"Bloody Hell, we'll take three." He said grinning to the people around him.

'That was easier than I thought…' Glenda thought to herself.

By the end of the tour and when they were sitting down in one of the adjacent rooms to the control room the Prime Minister's face had darkened a lot more then when he had arrived.

"Mr Hawke is something the matter?" Wynne asked.

"This is a fantastic achievement and I'm sure we can come to an agreement…but I can't know of this…this meeting…"

Wynne and Moore sighed a collective sigh of relief.

"Never happened." They said together the army chief and the prime minister looked up.

"We had a similar discussion with the British prime minister. It's perfectly fine…if you'll see the document in front of you, which incidentally yours Mr Hawke is another of the non-existent pieces of paper, so please feel free to look through it." Moore said with a smile. "Details how the Night Wolf command structure, the research and development, funding and everything else, including parallel development, off shoot technologies and any thing else from the program…"

Professor Moore, most of the UNIT legal, ethics, development and future forecasters had come up with what was probably one of the most odd pieces of legal writing for the UN.

They had unilaterally decided that where Night Wolf projects were concerned there would need to be a lot of work put into…maintaining the global balance of power.

It wouldn't be for the UN to hand over projected energy weapons to nations and then have them turn around and fit the alien weapons to their sea ships and tanks…

The gist of the agreement was that they would have access to all the alien technology that the Highlands base and the R&D that came out of Night Wolf command (and any other or future bases etc). However they would need their own scientists, own design teams and use their own materials (unless certain materials were sources off of the Earth) etc to build the ships making the ships country made. The UN would assist in funding but any outsourcing had to be kept within the country of origin to prevent unauthorised information leaks and to control the flow of knowledge of the project.

Any reverse engineered technology which has proved useless on board the ships may be reverse engineered to suit common technology within reason, while maintaining the UN amended articles and other articles connected there with.

The facilities and ships would be staffed by a majority of people both civilian and military based from the country of its origin; however there would be a free flow of personnel from country to country within the UNIT substructure.

There were various sub clauses and whatever, but their legal teams could go through it together, this was the informal version, for them to look through.

"It's a pretty odd deal."

Moore merely acknowledged the Prime Minister with a nod.

"It's a pretty odd ship."

"Does it fly?" An odd question considering they'd discussed what it could do, what it did do.

"Oh yes…I was on Firefox's first flight…"

"How far?" The military man asked.

"Out of the solar system…" Neither man could help their surprise, this was bigger than anything…this wasn't just the moon, or even Mars…Australia was barely getting together its own space program…when Sky Lab fell…

"So you've got a ship that can…leave the solar system…that's…that's bigger than one small step…that's…" The military chief was speechless.

"Of course future ships probably won't look like Firefox…" Wynne admitted, Moore glanced at him, so did Hawke.

"How so?"

"Designs differ, different technologies to be developed and incorporated…" 'Plus there's the minor problem that everything rattles like a budget airline when it's in flight…' Wynne thought to himself. 'But that'll be fixed…they tell me…confidently.' He reassured himself.

"And we'll have to design our own ships…" Hawke said.

"Yes. As per our agreement, we'll provide the original plans for Firefox…"

They nodded in agreement.

**--/**

Several months later and many meetings and discussions the agreement was signed, various engineers, technicians, architects, ship construction experts, people from all the armed forces were brought in and asked to sign the UN amended articles and connected legislature.

The Australian site for the shipyard, construction bays, research labs was also built underground, on/in a 'secret' government facility in the middle of the Gibson Desert which had previously been a weather research base and training facility for the Australian Army…

The real success came from UNIT: Night Wolf when a 'new' xeno-archaeologist and linguist was going through a storage facility cataloguing the 'unknown' pieces for further study.

A large piece of equipment had been left untouched because the documentation on the initial translation read.

'Unknown technology, Recovered: in cave unknown cave system in Hungry. Unknown power source, does not conform to known alien technologies, preliminary translation reads: _destruction total remove all life from area…_ Move to secure facility for testing and determination.'

The xeno-archaeologist/linguist looked over the initial translation and the original and made an interesting discovery, it actually read:

_Area Clearing Device: Danger do not use on living life_

It was in fact some sort of alien earth movie technology that broke down the matter into energy, a self perpetuating process.

After being tested it was moved to aid the Australians, in less time that it took to make the Highland facility habitable, the Australians had their facility cleared out and ready…


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 6 – A familiar face enters the mix and a new game is begun**

Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart tried to wipe again whatever it was off his uniform…not actually his uniform, his battle uniform, the dark green almost black cargo pants and plain shirt and jacket, no patches, no logos nothing which identified who they were, when Night Wolf was out in the field that's just what they were, a Night Wolf hidden in the Night, or the day or whatever it was.

According to their sources, Winter and the many other wi…

'No.' The Brigadier corrected himself. The other Sorcerers had confirmed that the war was winding up to a frenzy.

They didn't have many people within the wizarding Ministry of Magic, anyone who had come to work for them had been expelled, nearly killed and had come to Night Wolf wanting to help. Through the series of safe houses and networks that Winter and Andrew had established, Lethbridge Stewart, or The Brig as he'd come to be known by Winter and the others had got to know many of them, some had been hurt by their friends, abandoned by those they trusted, yet they still wanted to help in the war…the just didn't want to be a part of it.

He had just come back from a rescue/reconnaissance, they'd got word a safe house that they'd set up, where some of their contacts could rest and report any information was being attacked…

At some point as the fight was dying down someone had thrown something at him and another two officers, they'd…they'd screamed and it had been like they just…melted away screaming for their lives…it had gotten on him, not on his skin but then…

Their names were Dibs and Erlie, they had fled during an attack, the Brig had come to trust their judgement the way when ever they got close to a target they'd pause and sniff the air, their eyes shifting to that other place for a moment…

He rubbed the substance again with his cap, ruined anyway in the battle trying to help Dibs…

He was waiting in Night Wolf's infirmary the 'isolation ward', sealed away from everything else.

A woman came in wearing the orange hazardous materials garb.

"Brigadier…"

"Doctor…" He paused trying to recall her name, she'd recently transferred from UNIT. "Baker…"

"Sir. Let's see what this is…any burning, any itching…any other symptoms?"

He shook his head.

"Just that it's damn sticky, it's as though it's trying to creep through my uniform."

She took a test tube off a trolled a swab taking some of the substance and placing it in there.

She took at a bright green dropper and dropped it in. The sticky substance turned a sick purple. The Doctor looked worried and sick.

"Doctor Baker?"

"It's the same substance we've been seeing for the last week."

"What…?"

"Your incident report states two sorcerers were with you?"

"Dibs and Erlie…good men…they were hit with this…"

"It's a potion, we've got people working the books on it, it seems to attack the blood of a werewolf at an increased rate, like a contact based poison…"

"Am I safe…?"

"It seems to have no affect on people who aren't just a rash…get your clothes off, there's a fresh set in the draw, put everything that was touched in the bio-hazard bin…it'll be tested and destroyed…Brigadier…also don't be tempted to get any water…it seems to aggravate, I'll get a counter agent for you once you're dressed…"

The Brigadier would come to remember that battle and the ones in the future, their intelligence network was slowly being eroded and the wizard's dammed war continued to run rife through Britain, Wales, Scotland, France and Germany.

Night Wolf was hard working to its limits getting the information out there for various UNIT bases who thought it was an alien attack.

Then one day, at least 12 months since that battle it all just stopped, there were still reports, but the killing, the torturing stopped.

Supposedly the leader of one side of the battle this 'Voldemort' had been killed.

Despite that there were still mass murders that followed, but it did seem to quieten down…

Then it started again.

Night Wolf command was working on processing their new recruits into new sections, new people had flowed in from all walks of life…

Then the reports started again, teams from the Ministry of Magic, were supposedly targeting known werewolf safe houses, known to the wizarding world, rather than Night Wolf ones.

The line was they had to register of be locked up, some were forcibly given the truth drug…

It seemed the Ministry in all their wisdom had according to one official who worked in some minor paper pushing job 'they've decided to clean out all the dark creatures…the minister and…the others think its…the only way to stop anyone like…he-who-must-not-be-named ever coming again…', he'd been shaking and just wanted to escape to Europe or America where the Ministry had little or no influence.

--

Thomas Birmingham walked out of the ministry, his headache had been increasing, it had been constant ever since he'd been brought forth for trying to contact Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world.

The wizards many of whom he'd worked with for over 30 years looked at him with varying degrees of worry and disgust.

He understood the worry, he had worked in the Department of Mysteries, a department like Voldemort people didn't want to worry about.

He'd tried to fulfil the centuries old instructions, to inform any whom the prophecy may pertain.

After much research, from most departments he had a short list, and had attempted to visit and inform each recipient, the only one whom he couldn't was Harry Potter, stopped by Albus Wulferic Brian Dumbledore the protector to Harry Potter, or who claimed to be his protector.

The disgust, he was pretty disgusted at that. Working in the Department of Mysteries allowed him access to several 'dark' books, documents and even research performed before the current administration was in place, he had in the dark hours when there was hardly anyone in the building there were several areas that he'd investigated.

He knew a lot about the magic world, not just the wizarding world.

Then someone had 'tipped' the minister's special squad that he was werewolf, that he had lycanthropy.

Birmingham had never seen it as a curse, or a virus, or anything bad, he had been bitten in his early 20s, she had been a local apothecary. She still was as far as he knew, she'd apologised profusely upon waking up and finding his wounds. 'I always lock myself in the basement…I…I…always try….' She had started to cry at that point, apologising, trying to hurt herself…

He still found time to visit her, even during the war, they would talk, meet others…like them…

They stared at him as he exited the building, he could see the hate in their eyes, the worry, the fear…his headache got worse.

'That's what happens when your memories get bound.' A voice inside his head seemed to mutter, of course he knew about the mind arts, Occlumency and Legillemency, Oblivation and many of the more subtle forms of mental art, some that even the ministry had tried to forget about.

He could still think about the prophecy, but no one else could see it, even if he wished it…Dumbledore had wanted more…he seemed to recall, it had been a long, long day and the morning was slightly fuzzy.

Thomas Birmingham was sure at one point he might be…'disposed of' as the ministry's special squads called the 'problematic' lycanthropes.

There was nothing left at the ministry for him, they would soon as kill him if he walked back in, they were letting him go…because…because he'd been there longer than most of them and they…they feared that he knew their dirty secrets…

--

Andrew had made a name for himself at various points, mainly for simply walking through Diagon Alley….but not for that, he was supposedly not a wizard, and more precisely probably a lycanthrope, a werewolf.

He was known for assisting certain people on their way out of the wizarding world through either death, divorce or the simple desire to leave, he helped them 'get sorted' in the muggle world.

Thomas had heard about him, through various whispers, thought he was doing a good thing, his colleagues didn't think so when he'd voiced his opinions…

Thomas Birmingham knew that if there was anyone…who could help him find his place, to assist, work and whatever...

"Birmingham. A surprise to receive word from someone like you…"

Thomas Birmingham was sitting and waiting at a park bench in the middle of no where on a freezing morning, he'd watched the sun some up.

He'd asked some people about helping…he'd been sniffed over by a few people uncertain of him, he was a werewolf, a lycanthrope…he'd just lived with it a lot longer than some of these…pups.

"Andrew…" Thomas Birmingham looked up surprise that he hadn't detected Andrew's approach.

"We got word they made you walk out of the Ministry, surprised they let you out…?"

Thomas wasn't sure whether it was a question or statement, he merely nodded.

"So what do you want?"

"Straight to the point then, no tea, coffee, biscuits…" Birmingham muttered with a slight trace of sarcasm, Andrew chuckled lightly.

"Who tipped them off?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Being a wolf?"

"Not sure, someone tipped that I was a lycanthrope…maybe I annoyed the wrong people."

"How'd you do that?"

"Tried to fulfil instructions…"

"I trust you weren't trying to put up shelves…"

"Prophecy."

"Who?"

"I…I…ca…"

"They did something mental arts…oblivation?" Andrew stared at him Thomas could see the slight shift in his eyes. "No…something else, more personal…"

"Harry Potter…he won the war."

"'The-boy-who-lived'? I see…"

"Yes…perhaps…Albus Dumbledore was there also…" He said trying to change the subject.

"They didn't kill you…why come to us?"

"I don't know who 'us' is…but I want to help…I think I can help…I don't want to just go and live in a house attending functions and dinner parties….Andrew…I want to be doing something, helping people, deciphering things…I don't want any more people to be killed just because the ministry has decided we're evil…"

Andrew turned and smiled at him.

"Then I think we can help…" He stood up and gestured Birmingham to follow him.

They walked for some time silently before Andrew spoke.

"Sorry about the whole cloak and dagger thing Birmingham…most people we'd understand…they want out, we can help…but you…you've been in the lion's den…"

Birmingham nodded, he would have done the same…if he were in whatever situation Andrew was in.

"I understand…I just don't understand what…"

Andrew smiled as they made it over the second smaller hill, a dark green land rover was waiting.

"Get in." Andrew said as he walked round and started the engine.

Birmingham knew about most vehicles, his brother had married…someone who wasn't part of the wizarding world, they'd emigrated some years ago, she was a bit of a collector of cars and what not.

Birmingham had to admit sitting inside the land rover it did have a tangibility to it that magical travel didn't.

Andrew was passing him something.

"Read those, don't sign anything, just read it."

Birmingham began to read through the various pieces of paper half way through he turned and asked.

"I won't have to sign this with a blood quill?"

Andrew laughed.

"You're not the first one to ask that. UNIT's not that sort of organisation…" Birmingham just nodded as he would in the days to come as he heard more about this organisation and its Night Wolf.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 7 – Attack & Change**

Birmingham pilled the new pile of reports into a small pile.

He had been at Night Wolf for at least a month, for his first few days at Night Wolf command he'd been 'debriefed' and he'd given all the information about the ministry he could, the bounding of his mind only affected certain strains relating to the prophecy, but he told them everything else he could.

He'd found himself not knowing what to do, he could go out on missions, but many of the attacks were dying down, there were many less werewolves in the open, thanks to many safe houses, and…to the ministry's cull…it was genocide as one of the UN reports had laid the figures out for them.

He'd found himself in the Sorcery Department, which had many members but it didn't seem to have a 'commander' or coordinator collecting all the information into meaningful and useful portions, whenever a report was needed or something researched who ever wasn't busy just did it, which would work in the short run, but they were quickly gaining members who were proficient in various fields, from potions, to research to spell damage and everything else.

Birmingham had found himself in his element, and as no one told him otherwise had begun to take over some of the empty rooms and organising his fellows into groups.

It had been a long week, despite the lack of attacks Night Wolf Command was beginning to pull itself into a full research base and development centre, and there was no shortage of people in the research department wanting to develop all sorts of research coming in from various other areas, the EV/Firefox project and General McGeoch, who seemed to spend a lot of time in Geneva.

Birmingham shook his head as he walked though the corridors of Night Wolf command as he passed Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart.

"Birmingham something the matter?" The Brigadier asked, he looked like he was going out…or coming in.

"Nothing Brigadier…just…all this…seems so normal…"

"That's what I thought when I…." The Brigadier paused listening.

"Brigadier?"

The Brigadier held up his hand, it was closer, Birmingham tilted his head there was a soft sound as the air rushed in followed by a 'POP'.

"Oh Merlin…" Birmingham muttered and grabbed the Brigadier and pulled them to the side as there were another series of pops, closer to them.

Birmingham grabbed his wand from within his military issue shirt muttering a concealing charm over them.

"What the devil…" The Brig muttered, Birmingham shushed him quietly as a man in a heavy Ministry cloak walked past, everyone in Night Wolf knew them, they were almost as bad as the Death Eaters…not quite…they were hunters…

"Concealing Charm…wait for him to go past before we move…" Birmingham muttered quietly as he loosened his grip on the Brigadier's shoulder.

At least 5 people walked past.

Birmingham lifted the charm.

"Birmingham…get to the phone issue a code 1…"

Birmingham nodded as The Brigadier checked his weapons and headed for the armoury.

Birmingham grabbed the phone on the side of the wall and punched in 101.

"This is a code 1 alert intruders in base, ministry intruders…" Birmingham muttered into the phone. A moment later the code 1 engaged.

The fusion reactors were carefully shut down to cold, Night Wolf went to emergency backup power, everyone who had a wand would use it, any of the scientists had some very basic weapon training, but it depended, everyone knew the code 1.

The lights flickered off, emergency lights flickering on in their place.

"_Code 1, Repeat Code 1, Base in Lockdown, Base in Lockdown, Unknown ministry intruders, Numbers Unknown, Base in Lockdown. Contain and eliminate intruders, Base in Lockdown,…Code 1…"_ The message repeated twice more before cutting off. Birmingham moved cautiously to find the Brigadier.

"_Stupefy!_." Birmingham muttered at a shimmer, the person tripped forward with a nasty thump outside the armoury, Birmingham heard a loud click of a magazine being thumped into a gun.

"Brigadier?" Birmingham muttered cautiously.

The Brig stepped out a moment later hauling some sort of automatic rifle and two handguns.

"You've passed basic weapon handling?" Birmingham nodded.

"Take it."

"But…"

"We've already seen that it takes time to say a spell, we need to find the others."

"There were a lot of people in the mess…I guess we're a bit insomniacs…" Birmingham muttered nervously, he was no stranger to battle, in his early years of the ministry all people in 'dangerous' jobs trained with the aurors…before there were specialised squads out hunting members of that world who wanted no part in it.

Birmingham was startled out of his musings as they came to a stop, he came to a stop in fact, the Brig kept moving.

"Brigadier…" He muttered, the Brigadier spun round.

"What?"

Birmingham spun round firing off a range of old, probably dark and forgotten fast spells and watched them fling their way down the corridor, 5 of the spells found purchase the third hit the wall making in blacken.

"That's going to need a new coat of paint." The Brigadier muttered to Birmingham startling him out of his gaze.

"Birmingham…can you detect any others?" The Brig asked slowly.

Birmingham looked at him before shaking himself bringing the wolf slowly to the surface, he sniffed the air experimentally.

Looking around he shook his head.

"Nothing in here."

"Good, we'll work together, work our way to the Sorcery Department, there should be a stock of weapons and other equipment there…"

"Yes…" Birmingham nodded. Through their journey there they encountered three others, the Sorcery department held a few more people, they had their wands, those who were wizards, the others held guns as they stormed through the doors they were nearly shot.

The Brig gathered those who had some offensive training together into two teams, one to stay here and the other to go with them to round up the others.

Birmingham went with the Brigadier's team which numbered 7 people 9 including himself and the Brigadier.

They slowly approached the Night Wolf Command mess, there was something… Some sort of babbling coming from inside.

Birmingham and the Brig slowly opened the doors, inside was General McGeoch and two others tied via magical ropes to chairs, they had a glazed look and were babbling.

"Vertiserum…" Birmingham muttered.

"The truth drug?"

"They're using too much of it." He muttered again.

"What?"

"They'll kill them if we don't stop them and get a counter agent into them." Birmingham muttered and looked around their group.

"Geri, can you go back to the sorcery department, tell them to prepare an anti-serum to Vertaserium…and any other mental potions that will help…" Birmingham cringed as he heard someone shout 'Crucio' he sighed "Get them to search through, even in the medical department, something to sedate and settle the nervous system…you got all that."

"Yes…sir, Birmingham. Brigadier?" She said quickly, she held an assault rifle confidently, she was one of the transfers from the army, she knew about the magical world before joining somehow…

He nodded to her and glanced at Birmingham.

"Do you think we got them all?"

"They won't have radios or anything, so unless they come out and check…"

"We have to go in." The Brigadier surmised.

"Soon…"

"Yes…you three go around to the other corridor enter through in 5 minutes." The Brigadier looked at the reaming three "Circle around ambush from the kitchens, we'll go through here."

"Sir." They muttered before running off.

"Birmingham, use anything to stop them, I don't want them getting up while we're going in to help our people…understand?"

Birmingham nodded.

The unforgiveables weren't always unforgivable, they were just three of the most direct and left very little to the imagination, but they weren't the only ones that could do what they did, especially Avada Kedavra.

--

Birmingham and the Brigadier stood at the front of the large room, a room adjacent to the Night Wolf's mess, there were several white boards around them, and most of the personnel of Night Wolf were present, some were still in the infirmary, still having treatment, General McGeoch was just one of them.

The Brigadier has talked to Birmingham about the meeting they were having, about how they could avoid, or at least prevent what had happened a week ago.

The squad of around 25 people who had infiltrated Night Wolf had all been found dead, they were enemy combatants, and from the initial reports they all had injured at least one member of Night Wolf.

Night Wolf had suffered 4 casualties, 2 marines who were trying to hold the infirmary, two others who went to help them after they got in.

"What about the Fidellius?" Someone shouted out.

"That's the secrecy field, makes it invisible?" The Brigadier asked some of the people nodded slowly.

"The castle's been here too long, according to the General it's necessary for everyone to know the castle is here…just not what's in it…" The Brig said slowly there were some nodding, the Fidellius was an option but wouldn't work for something like Night Wolf and UNIT.

On the board they had; Anti-Apparition Wars, Anti-Portkey wards (need to be updated regularly) Birmingham had written next to it, Security cameras covering all aspects of the castle.

"What about those cloaks, the invisibility things, how can we combat that?" The Brig asked spiking a burst of conversation, then they quietened down, one of the scientists was the first to speak.

"Sir…from our tests so far they don't shield against body heat…we were doing tests for the field…but the heat vision equipment is a bit bulky…"

"So you couldn't carry it?" One of the Army sergeants asked.

The scientist shook his head. "Not easily…not in a situation…"

"What about from above, from the top…like a map view?"

The scientists nodded slowly.

The Brig wrote it up on the 'to investigate board'.

They progressed for most of the day breaking late for lunch before returning, but the end of the day they had the boards full of ideas on both sides and extra pieces of paper.

The Brigadier admitted to Birmingham that they needed to keep their base safe if they were going to do anything properly.

"What ever we do we can pass it on to the others…"

"Other?"

"The EV/Firefox projects…"

"The spaceship project?" Birmingham nodded.

--

The Brigadier collected reports on the General's desk it had been several weeks since the attack, he had been using the General's office, while he was…in the infirmary, after the meeting several proposals for research and investigation, tests and everything had flooded in, the Brigadier had had plenty of that back in his UNIT days, a little smaller with a lot less funds at his disposal than this, but it was still the same.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." The Brigadier called reading through a report on the viability of some sort of gas to disable intruders that some of their staff may be able to resist, he put it on the 'questionable' pile.

General McGeoch hobbled into his office, glancing around at the stacks of paper and some parchment that others still liked to write on for some 'official' and unofficial things.

"Lethbridge Stewart…" He managed to get out with a smile, Alistair snapped to attention the General waved it aside.

"General…I didn't know you were…I'm sorry that I….it was…that is I…"

"I get shum…reporsh…" He smiled weakly and gestured towards the chairs and the decanter.

"Get yourshelf a drink…and me…"

The general sat down, thankful he didn't have to lean on the cane he was provided with.

According to Doctor Baker and the people from the sorcery department he would make a recovery…however the intruders had used both the torture spell and a lot of that truth drug on him…

"Thhhs." He shook his head with a smile as the Brigadier sat down. "I bitsh my tongue…" That was the least of the things his body had done while attempting to not release information to the intruders.

The Brigadier looked uncomfortable. "Birmingham told me that it is one of the reactions to a lot of the truth drug, the body tries to stop the mind or something…stops you talking even if your mind wants to say it…I'm sorry General…"

"Shorry? Why Brigadier, you shaved lives…." He nodded curtly to the General.

"I puth in a request to the UN about a month ago, when we thought the war was over…"

"General?"

"Call me Brendan Alistair." The general gripped inside his loose jacket a crumpled letter lay within. He handed it towards the Brigadier.

"I was going thoo see you after you had gotten back that night…"

The Brigadier turned the letter over in his hands, it was an official communiqué from the UN, UNIT special council.

"Sir?"

"Open it."

The Brigadier slowly opened it, reading it slowly.

"Sir?"

"None of that General…"

"…" Alistair was speechless.

"Even before the last few weeks…I wash only meant to set up…get everything going for the UN…and now…during…the attack and after…you have shown exemplary leadership and dedication to Night Wolf and UNIT, General Lethbridge Stewart…now you're in charge…the ground work's here…"

"Still a lot to clean up…" The Brig…The General said solemnly.

"You can always reject the position…but good leaders are so hard to find…"

Lethbridge Stewart was nodding. "No General…I think I've got a bit longer left in me yet…" He chuckled. "Is there anything else I should know…?"

"Aside from there's a lot of paperwork in this job?"

The Generals chuckled.

"Yes aside from that?"

"Winter's leaving as well…he's going back to the UN…there's going to be some changes for the next couple of months…I'm sure you'll cope….what about the attack do you know who…have there been any more?"

Alistair paused and went over to the General's…to his desk and dug around for the report.

"The attacks sanctioned by the ministry seemed to have stopped abruptly, we're not sure if its because they attacked us…or"

"Or that we took out their whole force…" General Brendan McGeoch started.

"The research division speculates that it will be some time before the ministry tries anything like this again…Birmingham suggested that they will probably try to tie the werewolves up in legislature and protocols with other 'dark' creatures."

The general nodded for Alistair to continue.

"We've been through our personnel lists, and had them matched to the bodies, and the pickups from attacks…we think this man…" He pulled out a photo, a standard UNIT photo, and the second was of a body on a slab. "His name according to our files is Ben Morely…when we picked him up it was an attack on a safe house just after the full moon…we think he shopped our location…or he was one of the squad, he was wearing the robes of one…he's not a werewolf…Doctor Baker was able to ascertain that much…but we're still working through further tests…" He flipped through the folder. "There have been proposals, suggestions that he could have been a animagus…someone who could turn into something that looked like a wolf…to fake his way through a full moon transformation, other suggestions is that he have been using some sort of bodily transmogrification spell or concoction to change his outward appearance…"

The general was smiling and sipping his drink as he watched Alistair read off the report.

"Sir?" He said worriedly.

"You're going to be an expert at this Alistair, I think you'll enjoy it…"

Alistair nodded…and then looked back at the paperwork and frowned a little.

"Maybe just a small drink…" He glanced at the clock. "I _am _off duty…"


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 08 – Off-Planet Explorations, and Closer to Home problems**

_Report --- Research Outpost 1_

_Karli Thomas, researcher/archaeologist Outpost 1_

---

_We've been here for a month…_

_P33-45-73, that's the code that the computers use to identify this planet…we haven't got a name for it yet._

_Less than Earth type gravity, it puts a spring in your step when you wake up._

_It's been a month since RSCS Firefox dropped us off._

_We're all used to working in the field, geologists, biologists, archaeologists, our UNIT personnel, physics', everyone who makes up out 15 person team here._

_All the planning the briefing…it doesn't prepare you for stepping foot on an alien planet, this is definitely something that needs to be addressed in the future…Culture shock…or just plain shock…We've all worked in the field before...but looking up at night and seeing…different constellations in the sky…_

_It's not as though we can pull out a sat-phone and ring for help._

_Firefox transmatted all our equipment down, tents for all of us, prefab huts for research…the buggys and the chopper._

_The chopper was our first near disaster, less than Earth normal gravity, and the air gets a bit thinner at a lower altitude than…Earth._

_It's still weird thinking about Earth as…another planet, as in, we're not on…Earth._

_Days are approximately 15 hours long, giving us around 10 hours of workable daylight._

_The moons rise every 6th day…that's another thing that is hard to get used to…2 moons…they're smaller without the familiar 'face' of Earth's moon._

_According to Firefox's scans there are two landmasses on this planet, a northern and southern landmass, we're in the middle of the southern landmass._

_The weather system is a bit…odd…as if being on a planet in another system from Earth wasn't…_

_Every 6 days (or there abouts) we get a drastic change in the weather system, most days are around 20 degrees centigrade, our current research suggests it is connected with the moons rising._

_Usually rain and some heavy electrical activity._

---

_Month 2…_

_We've got everything more or less set up and we're working to a schedule now…_

_All our tents are set up around the main huts which hold the labs, and other equipment._

_I went out in buggy the other day…from what we can tell there are no predators…except the bugs…_

_The bugs seem to be a direct result of the rains…which wash them away, but any stagnant pools they seem to prosper, the rains generally keep them at bay…however we've had a couple of times where the rain hasn't been as heavy…_

_Tests reveal them not to be life threatening, research is being conducted into the local flora for any repellent qualities, the bug repellent we brought with us seems to be doing the job…but I've always thankful to be inside my tent away from them._

_Mineral testing continues, however we have encountered several traces and others in higher quantities of strong ore which could have potential uses for construction…_

_--- _

_Month 3…_

_Hydroponics has been in operation for a month…_

_We've discovered several…at least not poisonous plants although we're not game enough to eat them…just yet._

_Tide Monitoring station 1 continues to send back information from it's location on the coast…it took Davies and Jones 2 days to get out to the coast…_

_But we can now make more accurate predications of the weather patterns for Outpost 1._

_We got a message from Firefox she should be coming by to drop supplies and rotate crews here…we've collected enough data to keep everyone back at North Highland and Night Wolf busy for months…_

_I've come to appreciate living here…on another planet…_

---

---

_We were out collecting mineral samples, about a day's flight from base…_

_Random electrical storm, knocked us down…_

_We managed to bail out…some cuts and bruises…nothing broken…battered though…_

_The chopper's pretty banged up, we definitely can't repair it with what we've got here, and even back at base…_

_We're up a one of the small mountain ranges from what we can tell…_

_We couldn't get radio contact with base…spent the night exposed to the elements, cold…but no insects._

_We tried the radio again this morning, nothing, it seems that something, some sort of naturally occurring mineral is jamming the radio._

_It took us 7 days…we sheltered in a small cave during the rains…_

_We found them searching out from the buggy… I've never been so thankful to see that thing…_

---

The Brigadier finished reading through the personal reports of the 15 people who formed the first group to form a base camp on another planet…

Karli Thomas's account of her time on P33-45-73 caught his eye, she had enthusiasm, want for exploration, her personal reports were vibrant and personal while her official reports were straight forward and easy to read.

She had stumbled into Night Wolf, one of her Professors had recommended her on a piece of work she had written based on the Mars landings…it seemed that Ms Thomas knew Clifford Jones and his wife through…some means and had had a long drinking session at some point…

"So much for the official secrets act…" The Brigadier had said…although Ms Thomas's work never explicitly mentioned the Ice Warriors, only in passing while highlighting other references…

Karli Thomas was still completing an arts degree…while majoring in archaeology…the Brigadier had authorised her inclusion in the mission…

That was one thing the psychology evaluations had stated, they couldn't just have a bunch on UNIT soldiers and old scientists who were all Doctors and Professors and elite in their chosen fields on other planets…the stress of so many…challenges to 'respected' theories…would be a challenge (or worse) to some…

That said he still denied Ms Thomas's request to stay on the planet, everyone there was being replaced with a fresh team, that team…the first team that had been off planet was being kept in quarantine aboard Firefox and to be checked out for…anything and everything.

Plus the first team was well aware that they were the first large group of people that had spend an extended period on another planet, breathing its air, drinking its water, they had accepted that they would have to return at some point and go through the large amounts of checks and tests that had been slated for them.

**--/**

Karli hugged herself in the coat as she stepped outside of the Northern Highland shipyard, smelling the air. They'd all been given…well they'd all been checked for everything they were all clean of any infection. Some of the insect bites that they'd all received were still slightly inflamed, but they generally cleared themselves up, supposedly it was the increased gravity that was giving some of the team problems.

_Increased gravity…_ Karli thought to herself, it was weird feeling so heavy after their three months on 'the planet'.

She breathed in the cool air again, it was _so weird, _smelling the air and being able to smell all those things that she never even noticed, even up here in the freezing North…

Although considering she'd spent the last three months on a planet free of any industry…It was weird that she didn't feel at home on her planet of origin…instead wishing for her tent on another.

**--/**

The Brigadier had called a meeting of department heads of Night Wolf to discuss the recent…and continuing problem, so much so that MI5 had put in a request to UNIT who has forwarded it on to Night Wolf.

Birmingham – Head of Sorcery, Max Robinson – Head of the Apothecary division, Liz Gibbson – Xeno-Biology and Magical Naturalist, Katie Baker – Head Physician and Sarah Palmer – Magical utilities and strategic devices sat around the table going through the report which had been passed through various agencies.

"So Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, never thought he was guilty…" Birmingham said after glancing over the facts.

"But the problem is more widespread than just one escaped prisoner isn't it Brigadier?" Baker asked.

The Brigadier nodded.

"According to our sources both inside the ministry and outside it, the minister…Fudge." The Brigadier said grimly. "Has authorised the use of Dementors to capture and secure Black…their effects on the surrounding infrastructure and population has already started to be visible….Birmingham…"

"The Demmentors typically patrol and guard Azkaban…"

"The prison used by the Ministry of Magic UK…" Palmer stated, Birmingham nodded.

"Yes…in the past they've been kept in line…although during Voldemort's reign he was able to lure them away from the prison, most however were kept in line by the ministry's auror squad."

"How far have they been able to penetrate into London searching for Black?" Katie Baker asked.

"Reports from MI5 and UNIT London have correlated the information, taking into account the fluctuating temperature, the unusual deaths…and other examples of Dementor activity…they've spread outwards from Diagon Alley, and are continuing outwards, a number are staying within the city boundaries…MI5 contacted us for assistance and information." The Brig glanced grimly around them. "What sort of counter measures have we got?"

"As far as restoration goes…nothing, if they've had a direct encounter with a dementor we can't do anything, they're affectively brain dead…I've got several recipes which might assist in boosting the body's immune system and to alter the bio-morphic field for certain people…it might help for those people working near them or whatever…" Max Robinson said looking up from his notes.

"Good…a lot of government offices are in the central area…we'll also get patrols out…Sarah how is the…"

"We've got several prototype jammers ready…they need testing but they should work…"

"What's their affective distance?" The Brig asked…

The jammers were affectively a device which would jam all magical activity, spells, charms, counter curses…and probably apparition and other forms of transport…probably being the operative word.

"Approximately 100 meters…and these are protypes General we have to carry it all in a troop carrier…"

The Brigadier nodded, it was going to be hard to conceal something of that size.

"Can the range be increased?"

Palmer frowned.

"Maybe, we're still at the experimental stage, also if you can plug it into a mains power supply it'll extend the range…"

"Good…prepare as many as we've got and ready them for key locations." The Brigadier noted it down.

They discussed various other problems and business before breaking away to their various divisions.

"Birmingham." The Brigadier said as Birmingham went to leave, the Brig grabbed the phone calling Andrew Scott (Non-magical and magical weapons integration) and James Renwick (weapons research) into the meeting.

"Sir…" They both said as they sat down.

"Birmingham what has the sorcery division got that we can fight these Dementors with…and what can you two do?" The Brig glanced at the two men in front of him.

"From my initial research…without directly encountering one I couldn't tell you Brigadier…" Renwick stated.

"Same for my division Brigadier, we're only just getting the designs started for an integrated weapon…one that doesn't take a room of equipment and power…" Scott trailed off.

Birmingham frowned.

"The only spell which is effective is the Patronus charm…most of my sorcery division, class 1 through to 5 should be able to produce it…effectively it's a barrier which repels the dementors…it is possible that we could construct something which works the same way…" Birmingham trailed off.

"Power supply would still be a problem." Andrew Scott stated. "Anything powerful enough to put up a shield is going to use a lot of power, we've got enough here…probably to erect something for very short periods of time…however in the field it's just not practical General…" Scott finished.

"Very well, Scott and Renwick work with Birmingham…when we have patrols out there I want something that will slow down a dementor that anyone can use." The Brig stood to leave. "Birmingham make sure any of the patrols have someone who can use the charm."

"Sir."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 09 – Espionage 101**

General Lethbridge Stewart crept up on one of the hills which surrounded a large…supposedly empty space of land in Scotland.

It was empty according to the village at least an hour away, however the farmer who had leased the land certified that it had been leased…he just wasn't sure why…or to whom.

As soon as Night Wolf has received…UFO reports from the RAF they'd directed all their resources at this area…but the Sorcery department was the most enlightening, some of their friends had tickets…

The Quidditch World Cup provided the best circumstance to test some of their technology in a real world situation.

The jamming device sat on its side behind them, jamming wand user's charms, spells and other inhibitors around their area.

The device had come some way from being truck sized to barely 110 cm x 80 cm, no where near portable…yet two officers could carry it.

General Lethbridge Stewart shook his head as he watched yet another 'official' aim his wand at the farmer who was leasing out the land, a spell leapt out and then man walked off slightly dazed.

"Sergeant, make a note to get that man checked over by someone from Night Wolf…the amount of spells they've been working on him…"

"Sir." The Sergeant beside him had a camera was documenting everything to film.

After a couple hours of watching the General pushed himself away and slid carefully down the hill and walked calmly back to the command centre which was located in what the wizards thought was a hill.

Lethbridge Stewart sat down at the low work centre and punched up a secure link up to Night Wolf. Birmingham appeared on the screen.

"So how was it Brigadier? Impossible to get tickets for…and now I've got coverage from three different angles." Birmingham shook his head with a smile.

"The jammers seem to be coping Birmingham…though the amount of times I've seen a wand user use their wand on the man who's leased the land…"

"It is worrying Brigadier…should we try and…replace him?"

The Brig shook his head. "Even our best couldn't stand against this many…_memory modifications_. Have you got the RAF to do a high pass over?"

"Five times sir, nothing, apart from the initial radar contact, all of the passes after that show a very small blip and then nothing."

"Infra-red? Video?"

"No sir…if the anti-muggle charms are good…and they generally are we shouldn't have been able to see even those blips."

"Keep on it."

"Sir…are you staying at the Cup?"

"Yes…according to your department everyone packs up after the game's end."

Birmingham nodded as the screen fizzed and flickered out.

"What's going on Captain?" The captain poked his head around a partition.

"Happens sometimes sir, they fly over us…the jammers are working low spreading the field at ground level, if the power is diverted or someone flies over us we loose the field for a moment…it should be coming back up…" He glanced at a screen. Now sir."

"Brigadier? Are you still there?"

The general nodded at the screen.

"Birmingham…I'm still here. Any news I need to be informed of?"

Birmingham looked through his papers.

"ASCS Hattah reports a successful shakedown cruise around the outer planets, they're currently on-route to Research and Resource One to retrieve ore for…"

"Yes right…where's Firefox while Hattah is out there?"

"ASCS Hattah sent back a full scan of the system, we've got clear skies General nothing in the vicinity, Firefox is dropping supplies to Outpost 3 and changing crews with 2 before she drops her cargo back…"

"Very good Birmingham. Will check in when this is over…"

"Sir…one other thing… a request from RAF…"

"Go ahead." General Lethbridge Stewart saw Birmingham checking over a piece of official looking paper.

"They want to send a squad of harriers to your position to conduct intelligence training…"

"Denied Birmingham…cite the de-stabilising charms in the area…"

Birmingham nodded in acceptance.

"However…send them the specifications of the jammer Palmer will give you a hand, tell them if they can fit one of their birds with it, then they can do a sweep _after _the end, once most of the inhabitants are out…we don't need to drop another piece of fighter equipment right in front of these people." He chuckled.

"Sir…Night Wolf over and out." Birmingham nodded, as did the General and the laptop's screen flickered out.

General Lethbridge Stewart had just come from leading a team into the thick of the encampment which was totally devoid of action while the game was being played.

They were being monitored from 3 sides by different teams, however now that they were in the middle of the camp they were feeling the effects of the charms, spells and whatever else.

Anti-hypnosis training and various other techniques stopped them wanting to wander off too much, thankfully the most spells were along the edges of the camping ground, none of the _wizards _ever suspected that a '_muggle_' would get into the middle of their not so easily concealed camp.

The General's team had with them normal film cameras with no electrical systems and were documenting _everything_, one of his team was also carrying a windup 16mm film camera and was documenting both the mundane and the complex.

Things that Night Wolf might be able to replicate, or charms which they simply wanted presented in a real world situation for training purposes.

Lethbridge Stewart spun around as a cheer roared from the huge stadium, his gun already in his hand as the sky lit up with a magically enhanced firework.

The General looked to one side and saw a light flashing from one of the teams, it was a return to base signal.

He just had time to shout to his team members as the stadium's doors flung open and a cheering roaring crowd some running some walking started back to the camp site.

Moving swiftly he and his team made it back to the safety of the jammers.

The team went back to the dugout HQ to secure their footage and equipment.

General Lethbridge Stewart had stayed at their lookout as the crowds returned, he was monitoring the surveillance footage that was being gathered from his look out as the crowds returned to their camp sites and twilight turned to night.

Then he heard it…the tell tale sound of apparition, he quickly grabbed for the map that had been sketched out by the teams when they had first arrived, none of the sounds seemed to match the 'apparition points' or the 'portkey points'.

He could see figures moving out of the trees that surrounded the camp sites, and other figures pulling on hoods and masks coming out of tents, he knew what they were…he'd witnessed some of their final attacks…the reports were even more frank…

"Death Eaters…" He uttered to himself and then turned to the Sergeant beside him. "Sergeant, get the parabolic microphone…" He muttered, they would get all possible information on these…_people_ and identify any that they could.

The sergeant fell to the ground beside him slamming the DAT tape into the recorder and pointing it at the crowd of Death Eaters, he had a worried face.

So did the General, fires were beginning to be lit, he grabbed his radio twisting it around to the general frequency that was being used by all teams at the Cup.

"Greyhound Leader to all units, withdraw…I say again this is Greyhound Leader, withdraw and regroup at main staging area." He paused. "Take all equipment, leave nothing behind, Greyhound Leader out."

He didn't wait for a reply, instead he tapped the sergeant on the shoulder.

"Leave that to me sergeant, give the captain a hand, make sure everything from the base is loaded up."

"But Sir…" He started to say, the directives stated that there should be at least two people on the lookout.

"Now Sergeant that's an order." General Lethbridge Stewart said firmly.

The sergeant gave a curt nod and slid away from the lookout, Lethbridge Stewart slung the headphones over one ear and continued to record all the sound, the fires and the crackle of the spells through the air was starting to have an effect on the microphone hindering any clear reception.

Looking around he thought he saw a small animal rush into the trees.

10 minutes later, Lethbridge Stewart turned feeling a presence behind him.

"Who are you…you're not from one of the…Stupef…" Then he fell down before the General could grab for his gun.

The sergeant was standing there holding a rifle, which he'd used to slab down on the back of the _wizard _in purple clothing head.

"General Sir, the captain is getting the last of the equipment loaded…"

"Good." The Brig grabbed the camera and slung the DAT and mic over a shoulder and crouched down the mound." The sky above them lit up green…

"Take an end sergeant…we need to move the jammer as well…I trust the rest of your squad are safe?"

"Yes sir…" He grabbed one end of the quite heave jammer while the general took the other end, he gave a side glance to the wizard on the ground before they trudged away.

Had either of them looked to the sky they would have seen a snake crawling out of a skull…

General Lethbridge Stewart slammed the troop carrier into gear and launched them away from the site of the Quidditch World Cup just as another series of pops were announcing the arrival of another force of wizards send to defend against the World Cup and the group attacking the site.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine.

**Chapter 10**

General Lethbridge Stewart walked through the corridors of MI:5 for the heads of staff UK meeting.

The meeting was with people with the highest security clearance from MI5, UNIT, and MI6, he and Birmingham were also attending.

Birmingham was entering the building from a separate entrance; it would not do for anyone to assume that Birmingham and General Lethbridge Stewart worked together.

The heads of staff rarely met in person like this, when they did everyone had security clearance however even then they did each know each other's organisation's secrets.

General Lethbridge Stewart turned down a corridor seldom used by most people, and entered through an unassuming door.

Inside was a room devoid of windows much like most of the secure rooms inside Five.

Waiting with his hands behind his back was Harry Pearce, division head in MI5, he focused particularly on terrorist threats within the United Kingdom.

"Harry…" Alistair Lethbridge Stewart walked over shaking his hand.

"Alistair…how are you…?" He looked at the General.

"Good good…"

"These your boffin's work?" Pearce gestured the magic jammers which were in the corners of the room.

They had come a long way and were now vaguely pyramid shaped and were set up like a tripod, they were plugged into a mains power source, although there were some back at Night Wolf that had internal power sources which could be used in the field.

"Just some countermeasures…you can never be too careful."

Pearce nodded, General Lethbridge Stewart walked over to one of the jammers and flipped open the panel double checking that it was operating at full output, nodding to himself he closed the panel nodding to himself.

General Lethbridge Stewart settled into his place at the table, within 15 minutes the others arrived, he nodded lightly to Birmingham who was representing 'Other Interests' and Bambera who was representing UNIT.

The other two people were from MI6 and the head of operations of MI5.

The meeting had been called on information collected by officers of UNIT UK, MI5 & 6…which had been passed forward to Night Wolf and thus it necessitated a meeting of the heads of staff.

"General Lethbridge Stewart, your…department was highlighted as having the most information pertaining to this problem…" The head of operation at MI5 said pointing a remote at the large screen at the end of the room.

General Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

"From the information provided from your various departments and our own research we can conclude that the…terrorist leader is Tom Marvolo Riddle, commonly known within his…terrorist group as Lord Voldemort." The General paused and nodded to Birmingham.

"From the information my department within…the special operations area of UNIT has gathered Voldemort came out of hiding some time a few months ago…his group commonly known as _Death Eaters,_ celebrated this…reappearance with a _ritual_…" Birmingham stated.

"What sort of ritual, was this a religiously based…attack…" Pearce asked.

General Lethbridge Stewart shook his head.

"Not in the normal sense…" Lethbridge Stewart picked up the remote clicking the screen from its blank state so it showed two images. One of a white masked figure in a black cloak, the other of a figure in tattered robes that reached to the ground and darkness occluding the face.

"These are the two…elements of Voldemort's group." Birmingham said looking around seeing recognition from Pearce and Bambera, as well as the representative from Six.

"The ones in the masks typically perform attacks both on property and on individuals."

"What motivates these attacks?" Pearce asked.

Birmingham looked at the General, it was something they'd discussed as they'd been prepping for the meeting, it wasn't something they could test for or find in any records and it wasn't something which would show up in any database.

"We're not sure Harry, however during their last period of action they generally targeted houses and individuals who lived in isolated areas, farms and the like, or smaller towns." General Lethbridge Stewart stated.

"When was their last period high activity?" the man from Six asked.

"Fifteen years ago…was the last period of activity for this group." Birmingham supplied. "The group with the masks, our intelligence confirms that they are active, they are known as 'Death Eaters'…most attacks are followed by an almost silent fireworks display."

"Fireworks?" Bambera muttered.

"Reports suggest that it is a green light…which looks like skull or a snake…currently we have no information as to how it is achieved…" Lethbridge Stewart added.

"What about the other…thing?" Head of MI5 operations asked.

"My department has seen things like that around several hospitals…we thought they might be spreading a biological agent…" Pearce said.

"They are known within Voldemort's group as Dementors. And it would be best for any of your officers to treat these…individuals as a walking biological agent…" Birmingham trailed off. Everyone was staring at him.

"My god…you mean they're…" Head of MI6 started.

"They can't pass what they have on…but they have an affect on the local environment…extended close contact will lead to death…should they touch a person they will be dead before we could get them anywhere…even then we don't know how to reverse close contact exposure." Lethbridge Stewart stated.

"What affects on the local environment, do we need to have Hazmat standing by?" Bambera asked.

"No…the effects on the local environment can be anything from atmospheric changes, to alterations in the bio-morphic fields around certain biological areas…the effects are limited…" They all looked at the General oddly who then smiled. "It is described as being like winter when these…individuals pass by…"

"Are these individuals within UNIT's usual scope of operation? Or is this within your and Mr Birmingham's purview?" the man from Six asked curiously.

General Lethbridge Stewart paused considering the question.

"You could say this is past UNIT's general scope…but this is an _Earth _based problem."

Six and Five let out a breath and Bambera regarded Lethbridge Stewart.

"This isn't an invasion…they've always been here…" Birmingham added.

"What have you got that we can use to fight these…things?" Bambera asked, the man from Six also leaned in.

"Normal bullets will fix the Death Eaters…they are more or less…_people_…" The General said disgustedly. "All details pertaining to the Death Eaters and combat is in our report…including the after affects of an attack and those who may arrive to check the damage…" the General nodded to Birmingham he clicked the image on the screen over showing a masked individual holding a long piece of wood, and next to him another man in dark clothing also holding a long piece of wood.

"And those…Demmentors General?" Bambera asked again.

"Those…normal bullets are sometimes affective, flame throwers are affective in counteracting their…affects, also tracer rounds…"

"So basically set fire to them…and they should go up…" Bambera surmised.

"What about our facilities General…do we get some of these…devices?" The head of Five asked gesturing the jamming devices around the room.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

"My department is currently preparing some…we'll organise with your divisions to install them in certain facilities…"

"Sir…" Birmingham started. Lethbridge Stewart nodded. "We do know one thing, Voldemort's information network is…both bad and extremely good."

"What sort of answer is that?" The man from Six exclaimed.

"An accurate one." The general stated calmly.

"Voldemort's Death Eaters are extremely proficient at extracting information…however they have to get the officers and recognise them, you could think of them as an ignorant foreign force…they couldn't tell an officer from and _ordinary _person in the street…" Birmingham said with a smile.

"So gentlemen…if your…spooks get caught…be sure they don't know anything…about anything…they have some persuasive and accurate methods…"

_How did one explain a 'drug' that was almost impossible to fight…?_ General Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself…although these meetings were always laced with half honesty…while everyone had the highest security clearance…they hadn't signed the amended articles…

A tricky thing, briefings concerning more than classified material…that is so classified not even those with clearance could know…without already knowing…


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine (such as Night Wolf and all characters inside Night Wolf except Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart).

**Chapter 11 – Encounter at Tellus**

General Alistair Lethbridge Stewart (although known as The Brig to most people) drove at a safe speed away from Night Wolf, he'd left Birmingham in charge.

He liked to get out in the field now and then, even if this 'field test', was just taking a weapon out around some small test sites which were close to some towns and letting off a few shots, or just making sure that in 'real world environments' the weapons performed as it did in the lab and in the various testing situations that Scott and the others in the weapons integration division came up with.

The weapon, which sat in a matte black case on the passenger seat beside him was version 5 of the research and trailing between James Renwick's weapons research division and Andrew Scott's 'Magical and Non-Magical Weapon integration and development' division.

Night Wolf had after many attempts given up on constructing a workable phased energy weapon side arm, the power requirements were simply too vast to be carried around by the average means.

However for ship based weapons it seemed the logical step, all research which had been conducted on the weapons UNIT had available; which included standard and non-standard Dalek energy weapons, Cyber Guns, a sonic based weapon, and various other weapons had been sent to the Northern Highlands and Gibson Desert ship construction, research, development and implementation facilities.

Instead they had thrown their creative and investigative powers behind using the sorcery division's research in constructing a side arm from 'magical' and technological components.

The result the Brigadier was now holding in a secluded piece of woodland.

It was constructed from a sturdy composite material similar to carbon fibre, inside was the wooden 'focus' for the energy to pass through.

"_Sort of…though totally unlike a wand…_" Scott had said in the briefing.

Set behind the 'focusing wood' was a crystal, this is what channelled the energy through the focus, it was all powered by a small energy pack which had been retro engineered from various pieces of technology.

"_The crystal is what channels everything, currently the crystal is like a clip, it will change the weapon from a stun, to a kill shot or whatever, you're going out with the red crystal…that's the stun shot."_

Firing off the weapon produced almost no recoil from a gun of similar size.

Firing off shots at various trees and noting its performance on a small clipboard he tried holding down the trigger for a long time, the red beam shot out of the gun and it was only after a minute or two that it started to warm up, frowning at it he replaced in his holster.

Spinning around the Brig heard something in the distance…it was just a bird…

He was justified being cautious…

The reports that had been coming from the research division and from their few contacts near the ministry of magic had commented on 'he-who-must-not-be-named-, aka Voldemort had returned.

Although this ministry had been refusing to admit that Voldemort had returned despite an incursion into their buildings…

Night Wolf had tried unsuccessfully to gain more information on the incursion, but even knowing that there was some sort of entry into the ministry's depths was something more than most people knew.

The Brig felt the gun again and removed the power cell, it was still quite warm, frowning he opened the case and placed the power cell inside a small box and sealed it, he placed the second power cell into the gun.

He had a second pistol with him, just in case.

He had chosen a village that was well away from any known areas of magic, military or anything else that might get in the way, Tellus was a small town, which had been slanted for greater things, but it had never come to pass…

Later as it was beginning to darken he trudged back towards the town, bypassing where he'd parked his land rover and walked, case in hand to the local pub.

He sat down, happy to be off his feet.

"What can I get ya?"

"A small whiskey…" The Brig said looking around, first at the barman and secondly at the young man who was sitting at the bar.

"You've got quite a selection here, this is where a lot of whiskey makers sell their goods, the town likes it. Umm. Harry you've met a great deal of em, what d'you suggest." The barman gestured around the various whiskey bottles that were on display before nodding at the young man sitting at the bar.

The young man looked at him for a moment.

"What sort of whiskey are you after?" He said finally after studying the General's face for a few moments.

Lethrbdige Stewart only paid him the smallest amount of attention while glancing over the young man who appeared to be carrying a large amount of firepower, more firepower than most UNIT officers went out on a usual operation with…in the old days at least…now they packed quite a punch.

The young man was talking knowledgably about the various distillers in the area.

"…The McDouglass is a nice combination, he's a bit of a collector, so he knows his stuff. Big operation that one, but they've been at it a while. The Lofts, that's Prongs Whiskey Dools, they've been playing around with it since Justin left to go see his friends. They're still working out the bumps, but I like it, a bit of variety makes life more interesting." The barman was looking at him expectantly.

"I'll have what the young man suggested."

Lethbridge Stewart took his drink and walked calmly to the back of the bar, aware that the young man with the weapons was studying him curiously as he sat down gazing around the pub.

Lethbridge Stewart sat at the back of the pub, just wetting his lips occasionally, once he'd sat down, taking the weight off his feet he'd felt something…

Odd…

Feelings we're something he put stock in years ago, but after working with Birmingham and the others at Night Wolf you approached…how you responded to a situation in a different manner.

Even research that came from regular UNIT R&D and UNIT Broadsword described 'unique impressions' on the field of battle, areas which gave off almost nothing analysis wise, and yet there was still something readable…

The young man was the cause of it…

'No…' Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself.

The young man was tense, as though he was waiting for something, the rest of the pub had no idea, though they all seemed to know the young man.

They didn't acknowledge him as though he'd lived there his whole life…he had the look of someone…he caught his eyes again in the mirror, the young man was also studying him.

It was in his eyes in that brief glimpse that Lethbridge Stewart saw it, the carefree look that he'd expected, with a battle hardened look behind them…this young man had seen…a lot.

Lethbridge Stewart had been there for a few hours…when it happened.

A series of cracks, which were not a series of cars backfiring.

He saw that the young man tensed as he heard the cracks and started swearing to himself.

"Interesting." Lethbridge Stewart muttered to himself.

The young man was calling everyone away from the windows, clearing them away from the windows and doors…

"Everyone get away from the front…" The young man argued with another of the patrons before staring at him with hard eyes.

"The people out there will have killed whoever out there…if not…they will pay…I guarantee this…" He said with a hard stare before walking to the back of the pub, he seemed to ignore the General.

Lethbridge Stewart watched interested as the young man pulled out a magical trunk and enlarged it and removing three chunks of wood from it before reshrinking it.

The man was obviously a wizard but was much more at ease around other people.

Lethbridge Stewart could hear laughter outside, the young man seemed to ignore it…

"Listen to me everyone…" His voice was commanding grabbing the occupants of the pub's attention despite the laughter and shots of spells outside. "You've got to leave here and go to the church…" The crowd turned to force their way towards the door.

"When I give the word." He bit out.

"How will we be safe?" One man called out.

'That is a question…' The General thought to himself as he heard the young man mutter to himself.

"That my friend is why I have to talk to the Vicar."

The young man walked over to where the vicar was sitting watching the young man organise the crowd, Lethbridge Stewart leaned forward to listen to the young man talk to the vicar.

"I need you to lead these people, and anyone else and get them into the church."

"Will we be safe?…Those people…outside, I've heard before…the war…" The vicar stuttered out, he seemed to gain 20 years as he glanced towards the door.

"Yes, they will be safe from _them_." The young man said disgustedly pausing. "I have to ask you to do something."

"Yes?" The vicar asked curiously studying the young man.

"When you get into the church close the doors. Use something sharp, enough to draw blood, and put a few drops along the seam in the door. You may feel something." The young man said calmly looking into the man of god's eyes.

"I will pray…" he started to say, the young man gave a brief smile.

"Your faith. If we survive I'll explain. But for now, just have faith in your parishioners, in the church and yourself. As you got to the church, put these at the entrances, say Protego. A shield will form from them. Again…."

This peaked the General's interest, he knew that the shielding spell that the wand users used was 'Protego' though he'd never heard that it could be reproduced without a wand user standing by.

The young man handed the priest the pieces of wood.

The General watched as the young man with bright green eyes address the crowd.

"Everyone, when I say run, run for the church, when you get in the vicar will do something to the church, it will make it safe for you inside. Grab anyone you can, but once inside don't leave, you will be safe." He said firmly.

While the young man was moving the people into position and grabbing for flammable liquids from behind the bar, Lethbridge Stewart was checking for his regular gun which still nestled in his holster, he thought about pulling out his test gun…but it was still experimental, not to mention classified.

Lethbridge Stewart sat back against the wall smiling at the young man who ran back to him and muttered.

"You should have gone with the others." He sounded worried and slightly annoyed, as though if he were injured then others might come to harm…however that didn't stop the young man from glancing to his holster.

"Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart." He hadn't really gotten used to introducing himself as General, he always thought of himself as a Brigadier…

"Harry Potter." The young….Harry countered, glancing over the Brigadier and nodding to himself.

"You're in the military I take it." It wasn't so much a question as a statement requiring confirmation, after the last couple of hours he'd obviously worked up his own opinion of the Brigadier, as the Brigadier had of Harry Potter.

"Something like that." The Brigadier said vaguely.

The young man…Harry pulled out his trunk for a second time and started to rummage through it, he again paid no heed to the Brigadier who was standing over him, watching and listening for approaching Death Eaters it seemed that the explosions of alcohol and the villagers had provided ample distraction from the pub within which himself and Harry Potter resided in.

"Hold onto these." He said looking up from his trunk the Brigadier blinked when he looked at what Harry had thrust into his hands.

Harry Potter grabbed two shotguns, put one on a table and took the other handling it was second nature to him and smiled at the Brigadier.

"Thanks." He took back the C4, slipping them into one pocket and the detonators he had in the other hand into another pocket.

The Brigadier breathed a sigh, well a slight sigh at least this Potter knew how to handle…very powerful explosive.

As Harry walked up to the front of the pub the Brigadier strained his hearing, and saw several people run past the window.

"Scott wanted a real world test…" He muttered to himself and slipped the experimental gun out of the case and onto a second holster on his back.

Harry Potter walked back and chucked one of the shot guns he was holding to the Brigadier, he grabbed the second from the table.

"There are wizards, they're attacking. That shotty should kill em, probably." Potter added with a not too reassuring smile, the Brigadier simply nodded at this young man who was very calm considering the destruction that was going on outside.

"I know." The Brigadier said with a smile.

"You know? You're with the Ministry of Magic?" Harry Potter exclaimed.

"No. Maybe when this is over we'll have a chat." The Brigadier added helpfully.

"What's that?" Harry Potter indicated the gun as the Brigadier turned around putting the case's remains inside his jacket pockets, all that was left was the plastic and foam inside.

"Just something I was testing, it should stun most of em if I get the chance."

"Right, so we fight out way out, together? I don't have much of a plan to stop em. Just to…" He trailed off and then stared at him hard. "They can't be allowed to hurt anyone any more." Harry Potter said calmly with trace amounts of anger and control.

"They are?" The Brigadier inquired curiously, he'd recognised them…but was Harry Potter just out to get anyone or…

'Where have I heard Harry Potter before?' He wondered to himself.  
"Death Eaters. The ministry won't turn up while they're still killing…they'll wait until they're done."

The Brig nodded, that was how the ministry tended to operate…especially now that the second war was in full swing…why risk their own people, when they could just wait for the fires and flames to die on their own?

The Brigadier checked the pump action shot gun that Harry had thrown him as he saw a spell being cast on the door.

It swung open to reveal a Death Eater, he was about to fire when Potter brought up a Uzi and opened fire, some of the bullets seemed to stop mid air whilst others went right through the shield.

"Don't you just wish that there were some things that weren't impervious to bullets." Harry smirked when the Brigadier smiled at him

"All the time Harry….All the time." He muttered again to himself.

As they were about to make their way outside Potter handed him a thin stick it looked to be similar to the pieces of wood he'd handed the vicar.

"Put this in your pocket, say Protego, it should stop most low level curses, duck for anything else. It'll only stay up for about 8 hits give or take."

The Brigadier just nodded, when Night Wolf squads went out to patrol in the last war they used covert techniques rather than direct assault, but in this situation he'd take anything he could get, or be given.

The Brigadier followed Potter outside and watched as he shot two of the Death Eaters in the back.

It wasn't cricket, but then they'd gone beyond games long ago…Harry too seemed to have surpassed the need to play games.

The Brigadier looked around there were probably 10 Death Eaters around them, they were firing side by side, attacking and picking off the Death Eaters who still swarmed around the town at the two of them, approaching them with a superior stance.

'Probably think I'm a 'harmless _muggle_'' He thought to himself as he pumped the shotgun.

Harry was on the ground helping up the remaining villagers who were shaking, it looked like the after effects of the torture curse they were supporting each other as Harry talked to them.

"Run. To the church the Vicar should be there by now." He said glancing towards the church as he fired off a spell from his wand behind him.

The Brigadier also turned to make sure they had no one stopping them he saw just for a moment a brilliant white light bend from the highest spire and then down to the ground of the church.

Turning around quickly he yelled a warning to Harry.

"Harry duck!" He shouted as a green spell flashed past both himself and Harry.

He chucked away the shotgun and resorted to his experimental weapon and started to fire that off, hoping it wouldn't explode…or worse.

He moved closer to Harry who seemed to have stunned two of the Death Eaters.

He moved closer, there were now almost no Death Eaters around them.

"Thanks for the save. Nice wand, or gun or whatever." Potter looked up as he was pulling out the C4 and detonators from his pockets.

"Harry that's C4." The Brigadier said, stating the obvious as Harry pressed the detonators into the claylike explosive.

"That is it." Potter said tilting his head experimentally. "Anti-apparition wards, they've got portkeys…"

The Brigadier was rather interested in what Potter was planning, but if it involved C4 he wanted to be some distance away from here should anything happen, holstering his weapon he stepped a small step away from Harry Potter before retrieving his radio from his jacket and turned it to the more powerful frequency.

"…Greyhound Leader to Firefox do you read?" There was a burst of static before the carrier signal.

"_Greyhound Leader we read you._" Firefox responded.

"Firefox, is teleport fixed?" The Brig hopped other wise they'd have to use the transmat which was a whole other-other way not to travel.

"_Greyhound, sensors have picked up on your locator and additional locator, do you wish for teleport? Over_."

"Firefox, Greyhound Leader. Standby." He said slipping the radio into one pocket and searching the other for his teleport lock on device which looked like a piece of composite material…sort of rock shaped.

He walked back to Harry who was just placing the C4 inside the Death Eaters pockets, which wasn't good if they were here when it went off.

Then Potter pointed his wand at the two Death Eaters and watched them wake up and then panic, he turned to face the Brigadier a satisfied smile on his face.

Potter spun round as another series of cracks, much further off alerted them to another wizarding presence.

"You got a way out of here Brig?"

"Hold onto this." He said handing Harry the teleport rock.

"Portkey?" Potter asked turning the rock over in his hands.

"Not exactly. Greyhound Leader to Firefox. Bring us up, over."

"They don't look like Death Eaters, but they're still wizards, and not all friendly." The Brigadier muttered as he waited for a response from Firefox.

"_Greyhound Leader, Firefox bringing you up now…_" Harry turned away from the advancing group and pulled up his hood marginally startled by the radio. Then the world dematerialised around them and they were standing in Firefox's matter transmission room, with a bunch of Firefox's security pointing guns at them.

Before the Brigadier could say anything Harry Potter opened his mouth.

"I already have one guy who wants to kill me, and there are plenty others, so jump in the que."

The Brigadier laughed.

"Harry stay here for a second I need to have a word with their commander." He muttered.

"General…we didn't know you were…"

"Quite alright Captain…can you put us back down just outside of Night Wolf?"

The Captain nodded to his men who dispersed and the an officer began to operate the controls.

"Sir do you wish to leave now or…" The Captain asked slightly nervously.

"Now Captain…and radio Night Wolf to expect myself and my guest…"

"Sir."

The Brigadier walked back over to Harry who was looking around him with a raised eyebrow and then a moment later the world dematerialised around them again for the second time in the last 5 minutes.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot and a few characters and some objects are mine (such as Night Wolf and all characters inside Night Wolf except Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart).

**Chapter 12 – He's Harry Potter?**

The Brigadier looked around with some relief, they were at the right coordinates.

Harry Potter was looking around a little dazed.

"Let's walk and talk shall we Harry?" He offered gesturing the not so well trodden path.

"Fine, as long as you don't try to kill me." Harry Potter said nonchalantly, though he gestured towards the Brigadier with his wand.

"I won't…" He chuckled. "I expect you have some questions." He stated, the Brigadier would have been surprised if the young man didn't have questions despite the calm way he had excepted the last 10 minutes.

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up. But let me set some things out first." Harry Potter stated, Lethbridge Stewart nodded allowing Harry to say all the things he was thinking out loud for confirmation of his theories and whatever, he might do the same in his situation.

"You just helped out fighting Death Eaters. Therefore you're probably not one of them. You're not from the ministry or the order. You know what or who people who have magical ability are." Lethbridge Stewart couldn't help but interrupt at this point.

"I thought you liked to refer to yourself as wizards and witches?" Or that was how everyone who was a regular wand user referred to themselves and 'their world' prior to joining UNIT and Night Wolf, the Sorcery department didn't make such restrictions and assumptions.

Harry Potter's answer wasn't what he was expecting, though he was coming to expect the unexpected of this young man.

"I've recently discovered that you don't necessarily need to be a wizard to do magic." He paused looking back at Lethbridge Stewart. "Which brings me to your weapon, obviously magic," He reasoned logically. "That was a _Stupefy _or something like it. We just went through something which was neither apparating and it wasn't a portkey." He paused turning back onto the path. "So yes you could say I have a few questions, but it will help if they come with answers." Potter finished.

The Brigadier made a decision at that point, he'd already made it however he decided to commit himself.

"I'm glad you're magically inclined Harry. Otherwise this would involve a long series of forms classifying all of this under the official secrets act. It still will, just warning you in advance…" He smiled. Potter just shrugged and seemed to be taking it all in his stride.

"Do you know who U.N.I.T. is?" Lethbridge Stewart paused, some people did know…or had heard of UNIT, it was best to correct their assumptions before you started to explain what it was…generally, but Harry gave him a confused look.

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. We deal with the unexplained, the odd, any threat, any location, no matter how far it takes us. Alien Invasions, outbreaks of interplanetary viruses, scandals and things not of this planet. Also magic, not to the extent your ministry deals with it of course…." Lethbridge Stewart continued but was marginally amused that this information Harry didn't just take in his stride…but the Brigadier pushed on nonetheless.

"I'm telling you this because we know about Voldemort." He stated.

"Ah ha, So I needn't explain myself and all that?"

Lethbridge Stewart smiled to himself, so this was _the _Harry Potter…he wasn't totally sure…

"Your reputation precedes you and all of that?"

"Yeah." He shrugged again, like a heavy weight was on his shoulders…The Brigadier had felt like that on more than one occasion…though it was…worrying to see that expression on a young man such as Harry.

"No. We know about Voldemort we know bits about you." He paused and smiled lightly at him. "I didn't know what you looked like… so I never recognised you." This seemed to lessen the tension in the young man…marginally.

Still sensing the tension in the young man he patted down his pockets and found an enhanced telescope he'd been using for his trials earlier in the day.

Pulling out a piece of paper Lethbridge Stewart checked his watch and glanced up writing a set of coordinates and a day and time.

"Here, read this and look straight up." He extended the telescope and handed the paper and it to Harry.

The scrap of paper gave the coordinates for the Royal Space Core Ship (RSCS) Firefox's location, and obviously the ability to see it while it was within those coordinates.

"The Fidelius Charm." Harry whispered, the Brigadier raised an eyebrow, not everyone knew of the Fidelius Charm.

Lethbridge Stewart continued to walk allowing Mr Potter to adjust to that information that he had just absorbed.

Harry Potter…Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself, he'd browsed over the how of the end of Voldemort's last war, but most of it just seemed to be hyperbole, he'd left it mostly in Birmingham's hands until they could get genuine proof.

"A castle?"

"It's a hub of research, training, development and creativity…" The Brig smiled at Mr Potter's astonishment of it being a (quite large) castle…many of their visitors who came from UNIT or the UK's Armed Forces couldn't believe it…when they came in the 'front door' as they were…

But Winter and McGeoch's research early in Night Wolf's development stated the need and thus they had built their operations inside an old castle…they still had plenty of unused rooms inside the main structure and the structure they'd built inside some of the interior.

"Brigadier, while I'm fascinated, state secrets and all. Why bring me here?"

It was a fair question…he could have just…well he couldn't really, he settled for a smile.

"I'll let the Birmingham answer those questions. Suffice it to say I know enough about 'your world' to worry about Voldemort, and you. Would it make you feel any better if I told you Birmingham has worked in the Department of Mysteries?"

That always seemed to put, those that came to Night Wolf at rest…or very uneasy depending on the person.

Potter was nodding, he seemed a little stunned.

"Good. Well I, actually none of us went looking for you. But we accept all sorts at Night Wolf, and you Harry are just the sort. Birmingham mentioned that there were some people out there…though confirming it is always complicated…a lot of hyperbole surrounding you…but he did ask to keep an eye out…"

They walked and talked for a moment or two longer until they were at the water's edge.

"So how do we get across?" Harry asked indicating the large gap between the bank and the castle.

It had once been a moat which had long since flooded over and around to the lake.

"A boat, low tech…always best…stops people from stumbling over…"

The Brig said offhandedly as he watched Potter walk right up to the water gesturing with his wand.

"_Glacieer._"

General Lethrbdige Stewart watched as a spell shot out of Potter's wand and froze a large path between them and the castle's banks.

The boffins in the Sorcery and Strategic Devices said it was impossible…they'd obviously need to return to the drawing board…or at least find a more effective way to set up their 'fence'.

He gingerly followed Harry Potter, the ice looked quite thick and while it was cold it was still summer….

As he touched onto solid ground again the path almost imploded into the water, he allowed himself a satisfied smirk…it still worked…but it had allowed himself and Mr Potter onto the other side of the moat….

Walking over to the blank area he placed his hand on the brick panel, which wasn't a brick panel and muttered a select phrase relevant for this day and time.

The hologram shimmered away leaving a hardened herculanium door.

"Come on this way Harry." He said gesturing the door, it slid open as he approached.

The Brigadier lead Harry to his office wandering over to the decanter, Harry obviously knew something about whiskey.

"A drink Harry?"

"Yes a large one I think it's going to be one of those nights. I'm not even surprised anymore, just mildly awed." He said looking around, with a faint smile on his face.

The Brig gestured towards two comfortable chairs which were sitting by a large pot belly stove which he'd opened up as he'd walked in it gave the impression of a fire.

Harry started as though he was going to ask something but instead drained his glass.

"Please don't kill me if I fall asleep…" He trailed off, sounding more than twice his age…

"Don't worry…all your questions will be answered in the morning…"

He drained his own glass.

"But for now I need to answer some of my own Harry Potter…" He patter Harry on the shoulder and closed the stove it still gave off a large amount of heat into the room.

He considered moving Harry but he appeared to be used to falling asleep in chairs…or curled up in small spaces…

General Lethbridge Stewart wandered through the halls of Night Wolf, it was well into the night, Birmingham would be at home, but there would still be the night shift in the Sorcery division and he could search around in the library.

He walked into the Sorcery division he found Patricia Jones, she was part of the apothecary division, but she also took various shifts in the sorcery division…

She looked up from her work.

"General…Scott was a bit worried you were out testing his new gadget for a while…he got your word from Firefox…"

He nodded.

"What can I do for you on this night?" She asked smiling.

"Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" She repeated grabbing the keyboard from the side of the bench and twisting the screen round and tapping a button which made the screens nearest to the Brig flare into life showing the search fields for Night Wolf.

"I ran into him…he's in my office."

"Oh…So…General?" She stuttered, slightly puzzled and curious.

"Yes Patricia…information, basic background on the young man…I remember some…a lot of information that came about at in the early 80s, when Voldemort was supposedly killed supposedly some baby…supposedly this Potter killed him…"

"Ok…give me second…"

"Thought it was a lot of rot…though this was all in that _Prophet…_Birmingham said he'd find out…he said they did something so he couldn't say certain things…though he did tell me…without so many words to look out for someone like Potter…" He trailed off again.

"Birmingham mentioned some sort of psycholeptic based mental intrusion that worked upon key words in his conscious and subconscious mind…" She pondered before continuing to type away at the key board.

"Ok here's all the 'wand users' papers at the time…pertaining to Voldemort…or more commonly…" A copy of a paper was up on the screen _He-who-must-not-be-named, defeated by unknown infant!_

"Then this comes about 2 weeks later…" _He-who-must-not-be-named, Defeated by Harry James Potter…_

"_Harry stopped the killing curse…only a lightning bolt scar was the only evidence…" States Headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry…_

"What have we got on this Dumbledore?" General Lethbridge Stewart pulled over one of the comfortable swivel chairs and sat down, he'd heard of Dumbledore before…though not in any major way in the last 10 or so years…

"Just a moment…"

"Who's looking after Apothecary tonight…?"

"While Max is in Geneva? I've got some of the day shifts…Sam's taking it tonight, we're still running all the tests from P788, but I like to take the sorcery division occasionally, it's interesting…" She looked down at the screen worriedly.

"Ok here…Dumbledore, also known as Albus Wulferic Brian Dumbledore…he is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…according to our sources he was appointed headmaster after someone called Dippet…no information on Dippet just some vague personal comments….should I search for…?"

"No…what did he do? Dumbledore I mean, what did he do during Voldemort's first war?"

"He was headmaster…we haven't got much else on him for that period…"

"After then Patricia…I've heard his name before…"

"Any clues Brigadier?" She asked with a smile, almost everyone called him that…they were like one large…well a laid back organisation, despite what they did and the stresses sometimes imposed upon them.

"Just after Voldemort's war…around and before the incursion into the castle…" He muttered.

"Right…" She punched in the dates…"Ok I've got it up." A list of dates, reports and personnel; both alive and dead appeared on the screen.

The Brig stared at the screen for a while looking over the names that were lost during the Ministry for Magic UK's program of practically genocide against the lycanthropes.

"Pull up the notes on Eilie's death." He muttered, Patricia nodded silently.

"He was killed with the substance which…" She started.

"Yes…what notes do we have about who was involved at the time?"

"The Ministry for Magic UK…" She started.

"What notes have we got on the system about the Ministry at that time…who was influencing them that sort of thing?"

"We'll have to go into unconfirmed and personal accounts for it Brigadier…"

"That's fine…" She nodded and started scrolling through the lists…

"Nothing odd here…various ministers with long and complicated names…the amount of Lords…there are hardly any dukes, counts or ladies for that matter…" She muttered to herself.

"Professor Winter is supposedly working on a political map…he has been since Birmingham took over…"

"And he's still working?" She exclaimed.

"Geneva…and I myself must admit I'd like to know how it all works…all this Wizengamot…how they fund everything…" He trailed off she nodded and continued reading for a few more minutes…

"Brigadier…got something, several unconfirmed reports state that Dumbledore frequented the minister's office and was often seen in several other areas that were used by the 'special squads'…" She trailed off… "There is one comment that suggests that it he who pushed for the squads…" She swallowed nervously.

"And he's in charge of a school…" He muttered. "I knew I'd heard of him before…"

"Sir?"

"Thank you Patricia…good night…" He rose nodding briefly to her and left for his quarters…

Doris knew that he was off 'doing his UNIT thing', he'd call in the morning and reassure her that the world being attempted at being invaded…again.

Tonight he wanted to try and sleep and forget the nightmares he'd been reminded of…it was never easy…


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright).

**Chapter 13 – Information for thine friend**

Alistair woke up with a start and looked around his room, the dark walls, the curtains half opened…looking out into a small inner courtyard where parts of the mess spilled out into…

"Night Wolf then…" He muttered to himself as he pulled himself out of the comforts of his warm bed towards the shower.

Following his shower and a new set of clothing he took the phone.

"Hello Doris…" He said smiling hearing her voice.

"No…no aliens…" He smiled, she had eventually signed the Official Secrets Act…despite knowing most of it…and following the Ice Warriors…'event' it seemed only right…she had also signed an amended agreement similar to the amended articles…it just made things easier…and Geneva…in certain circumstances was compassionate…However Alistair couldn't share everything with his wife, but could advise her not to go to a town, or to avoid certain madmen in robes…

"If nothing else happens today…tonight."

"_So what was it this time Alistair?  
_"Nothing much Doris…some wizarding trouble…"

"_Alistair were you in Tellus?"_ He frowned.

"Yes…"

"_It was in the news this morning, a brief mention…a gas leak…it sounded a bit flimsy…"_

"Yes it does…" He started.

"_UNIT is normally more careful and logical with their cover stories…considering there isn't a gas line through Tellus." _Alistair caught himself chuckling.

"I have an idea who is responsible, it isn't UNIT though…"

"_So…"_

"Yes…well should be going Doris."

"_Keep safe Alistair."_

"I always do Doris…I always do…love you."

General Lethbridge Stewart headed down stairs having a quick breakfast while checking over the reports from yesterday and the previous night, included was a note about Tellus, highlighting exactly what Doris had said, Tellus's complete lack of a gas line.

As he left he grabbed a tray and loaded it with some breakfast for his young guest still sleeping in his office.

As he walked through his office door he immediately noticed that he had a gun pointing at him…this wasn't the first time someone had held a weapon on him…it probably wouldn't be the last…

Lethbridge Stewart also noticed the wand which was carefully aimed at his torso, he didn't give any outward signs that he was worried about them.

"A Uzi, what you used last night?" He said placing the tray in front of Harry who regarded him and the tray with an almost paranoid regard.

Harry shrugged flicked the safety off and replacing the wand inside his coat and held up his hands in a sign of peace.

He regarded the food in front of him for a moment longer before settling down and began to eat.

The Brigadier watched Potter watch him every so often between bites of the food as he gathered up certain forms which he would need Harry to sign.

There was no doubt in his mind that he was going to allow Harry to be a part of Night Wolf…but there was still paper work involved in allowing him in…they couldn't just go around telling anyone.

As Harry finished his meal Lethbridge Stewart motioned to a his desk and a chair which was close enough to it that Harry could lean on it in order to sign the requisite papers.

"So I expect you want some answers Harry?" He asked curiously, there was an outside chance that Potter might say 'no…thanks a lot' and leave, some people in the past couldn't cope…didn't want to cope with the possibility, happy that they were rescued but that was all…They still had to sign various agreements, but as long as they didn't scream from the rooftops at what they witnessed…

"That would be nice. I remember everything you said about UNIT, about the magic. But why, and why someone from the Dept of Mysteries? Why a research base in a castle?" He asked logically with a large amount of curious wonder.

"UNIT was originally set up to deal with alien incursions and the like. But we gathered various pieces of information and technology along the way…" He trailed off and pushed the Official Secrets Act and the Amended Articles across his desk towards Harry Potter.

"Tick the top box that says Sorcerer. Then just your name and signature. It just says basically that you won't go to the press or share secrets with the enemy. You already have one of the highest clearances, given your status."

Lethbridge Stewart stated, it was…sort of true, in theory any wand using wizard who approached UNIT, the United Nations, Night Wolf, and the Armed Forces of any country within the United Nations had the highest clearance, simply because they were part of the world that they were a part of, knowing magic and the like.

"My status?" Harry raised an eyebrow curiously at him.

Lethbridge Stewart explained to Harry that his status meant that he already had it…more or less. But there were things that his clearance didn't cover.

The Brigadier watched carefully, Harry flicked through some of the pages and glanced over the amended articles, which in themselves didn't reveal anything…at all.

"Right." He said taking the two wads of paper and placed them within a secure envelope. "UNIT picked up a lot of technology, equipment and know how along the way, including some interesting artefacts. Artefacts that could lead us to explore a little more than we could previously. It let us build ships; like Firefox…" Lethbridge Stewart trailed off, despite welcoming different people to Night Wolf…he sometimes got carried away with the spiel. "But I'm getting away from myself. You asked about magic. The UNIT Sorcery department was set early…during Voldemort's last reign. The boffins were a bit unsure about it after the debacle with the Paranormal Division…" Which was understating Lieutenant Hamlet MacBeth's involvement in the Paranormal Division, a small division of UNIT back in the early days when they were willing to invest in almost anything, Macbeth wasted a large amount of UNIT's budget, and while the reports attest that he was able to recruit several human psychics later investigations showed that one of those was an a natural at the wand user's mind arts…enhanced by her natural ability…the others were so traumatised by an event in the late 60s that wanted no contact with Macbeth or UNIT. Macbeth had been dismissed from UNIT shortly after an investigation into the event.

"But due to various…threats…and we had some help…started with just one 'wizard', and we've been growing since…this facility is the largest of the research, development and training facilities…there are others…" He muttered the last part but was interrupted by Harry.

"You said help? From who?" Potter asked.

"Harry, I'm sure you know the 'wizarding' society. Who does it exclude?" He asked curiously of the young man sitting in front of him, he poured some tea for each of them and watched as Harry started to think and seemed to hit upon and idea.

"Lycanthropes…squibs…"

"UNIT has always been an equal opportunity workplace." That was made clear to anyone pompous enough to suggest that any of their personnel should be removed because they happened to be a werewolf, or something such as that…the UN didn't stand for that sort of discrimination, despite how rife it was in the Ministry for Magic's corridors. "We gave them the assistance, the option of working within an environment that wouldn't judge on something so minor. Birmingham was the first to come to us. He left the Department of Mysteries. I think all of this will make sense once we start the tour." He added seeing Harry's wide eyed shock.

"But why bring me here? I doubt that I would be much use in something like this." Harry said taking a sip or tea and gestured around the office and staring at the tea pot.

"I would disagree, you handled yourself better than a lot of trained soldiers did last night. You had some nifty weapons, and you took control of the situation." He commanded the situation in the pub Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself. "Do you know how many soldiers from the regular army don't make it through the training or bow out after less than a month with UNIT?" He asked curiously, Harry merely shook his head.

"85. UNIT is a complex operation." It used to be much higher…but prioritising of information and who knew what had helped…spread out the impossibilities… "It takes the right people, even to help. Harry I think we might be able to help you….with Voldemort."

Harry raised an eyebrow and drained his tea, Lethbridge Stewart had finished his at some point and rose.

Harry nodded to him and asked. "So where to first Brigadier?"

Lethbridge Stewart lead the young man, who now seemed to leap with life through the corridors of the heavily modified castle.

Nodding to the various personnel they arrived at the heavy oak doors, which were necessary for various departments to have old wooden doors for their respective assignments.

This particular door was to the main Sorcery Department.

Lethbridge Stewart noticed that Birmingham had a slight look of surprise as they walked in.

"Harry James Potter." He said shaking the young man's hand. "General." He nodded to Lethbridge Stewart.

"I thought you were a Brigadier?" Potter spun around staring at Lethbridge Stewart…he also had reached for his wand, and a weapon Lethbridge Stewart noticed and was glancing around taking in Birmingham's stance and his own.

"I was, but everyone calls the Brigadier, he's just trying to seem professional." Birmingham raised an eyebrow at him, he continued and looked at Harry. "I can leave you two to talk if you want. Or I can stay…for the moment." Birmingham was generally better at explaining…everything.

Potter regarded the two of them in the room. "Stay Brigadier. I don't trust easily but let's say I'm warming to the idea." He said not taking his eyes off Birmingham.

"So Mr Potter. I didn't think the Brig would run into you." Birmingham said casually leaning against his desk. The Brigadier watched as Harry focused on Birmingham, like a hunter sizing up its prey.

"I know that with the scar and all I'm pretty much noticeable, but you talk as though you know me." He asked suspiciously.

"There is a prophecy Mr Potter." Birmingham now said carefully staring at Potter, not even looking at the Brigadier.

"Call me Harry. I know it, would have liked to know sooner…" Harry seemed to almost laugh…in an ironic and some what bitter way.

"The Prophecy?" Birmingham asked slight surprised, but didn't stop staring at the young man when he said 'prophecy'.

"Yes." Harry said bluntly.

"That's a relief." Birmingham did indeed sound relieved, more so than Lethbridge Stewart had ever heard him before.

"Why?" Harry seemed genuinely curious now, his hand slipping away from his holstered weapon, but the Brigadier noticed he still had a hand near his wand.

Birmingham seemed to sigh. "Because I was the one who set it on its shelf, I heard it and tried to follow the instructions." He said letting out a breath of air.

"Instructions?" Harry Potter sounded intrigued and confused, The Brigadier had to admit that despite being in charge of Night Wolf for all this time, 'prophecies' were something that UNIT tended not to pay attention to, especially prophecies as defined by the wand using magical world.

Occasionally they encountered evidence of a stochastically driven alien incursion…which more or less proved that using a stochastic process didn't always pan out…

Birmingham was now looking around his office and was talking to both Harry and the Brigadier asking Harry's question.

"When a prophecy is made, some instructions must be followed, if the person can be identified, even if there is a possibility of the person being the one in the prophecy they must be informed to prepare for their foretold fate, even if it turns out to be erroneous."

"And why wasn't I informed?"

The Brigadier nodded with Harry's question, if these were the instructions why not inform the person it was about.

"I tried to and was stopped by someone claiming to be your magical protector. I tried several times in fact… after I left the ministry…"

Now Lethbridge Stewart saw Harry sigh and seem to massage the bridge on his nose.

"Let me guess, Mr…" Birmingham picked up Harry's comment.

"Albus Wulferic…"

Lethbridge Stewart was mildly surprised, it was something extra to add to Dumbledore's file.

"Dumbledore. Remind me to have a chat with him when I see him again. Might have to break something worse that his office for this one." Harry said, surprisingly calm, though his voice betrayed the tired annoyed and slightly sarcastic tone associated with someone who was sick of being...used.

He seemed to be staring off into space before looking again at Birmingham.

"How old are these instructions?" He asked.

"Before Merlin, when magic was first acknowledged when the first prophecy was made and no one paid it heed. The one it was destined for died, unprepared. The instructions were for those who recorded the prophecies to pass it on to those who needed to know. They are some of the oldest laws in magic." Birmingham rattled off knowledgably, Lethbridge Stewart knew that Birmingham was a veritable fount of knowledge, on many subjects and some more besides.

Harry Potter shrugged. "And he broke them that easily…Huh…" He seemed to mutter something to himself. "So you joined UNIT after that?" He jabbed his thumb back towards the Brigadier.

"Yes, after that I tried to go and release the information to you and your guardians. But the ministry found out that I was a werewolf and bound my memories."

Lethbridge Stewart perked up at this, Birmingham had explained this portion of his dismissal…that something had happened but he wouldn't be able to explain the whole details of the something until the whatever had happened was there to 'release the information'…or something like that.

"Not unlike oblivating, they are bound within a person, so I can still talk to the one who the prophecy was made about. Even they didn't want to mess with ancient magical law. So I can talk to you about it. I know the prophecy, I expect you do…" Birmingham asked not breaking eye contact with Harry Potter.

"Only since last year, the end of the school year. It was destroyed by myself and Voldemort. Dumbledore only then decided to tell me then."

Lethbridge Stewart frowned again at the mention of Dumbledore, who was much like most people with power…

"But, but he was…he said he would tell you when you attended Hogwarts." Birmingham was shocked and angry…

"I guess he didn't specify exactly when." Potter shrugged, but there an underlying anger there at this revelation.

"That makes my offer all the more relevant. That's why it is good that the Brig is here…" He glanced at Lethbridge Stewart for the first time in the conversation. "Could you perhaps tell us how you came to be here? I know it's bad but I believe that it will help. I think we can offer you a great deal and you us." Birmingham glanced at the Brigadier again. He nodded a small nod to Birmingham, Birmingham was one of the people Lethbridge Stewart trusted implicitly, and was pretty much second in command of Night Wolf…

Potter shrugged as Birmingham lead them to the back of the room where an old yet sturdy table sat with some chairs around it.

As they sat down Potter closed his eyes taking a deep breath.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning, context and that sort of thing." Harry Potter said looking at the Brigadier and Birmingham.

Birmingham and the Brigadier listened as Harry told Voldemort's first war from his perspective, who ever had told him of the first war had told him a…thankfully short version of it.

Their guess that the ministry's actions following their 'official' end had obviously not been mentioned to the young man, but he also knew much more about the details of the supposed end of the first Voldemort War.

Potter explained how he had been 'left at the Dursley's by Dumbledore', on their doorstep no less.

Had Dumbledore done and had witnesses he would have been prosecuted for child abuse, abandonment...why not knock on the door? How did he know that no one would take Harry when he was sitting there as a baby during the night?

He shook his head sadly listening to Harry recount his years with the Dursleys…it sounded like a Charles Dickens tale…but Harry seemed to acknowledge that it was bad…yet until now had not done anything…seemingly after going to Hogwarts putting his faith in Dumbledore.

His years at Hogwarts were hardly something which encouraged Dumbledore's assurance that Hogwarts was 'the safest place in the world'.

_More like a death trap._ Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself.

_Why keep a valuable element such as the almost legendary Philosopher's Stone, inside a school?_ _If not to lure Voldemort there?_ The Brigadier agreed with Harry's assessment of this.

His second year sounded like a plant, in fact as he clarified matters it seemed that had the matter been pursued this Malfoy chap should have been charged…not that the Ministry would have done anything to a Voldemort supporter…the ministry was just as corrupt as they had read from their reports.

It angered him that his godfather had been imprisoned without a trial…but as Dumbledore was head of a committee, even at that point he should have been able to push for a trial…

His tale of how he and his friend Hermione had rescued his godfather…worried him slightly, time travel did that, despite working around…the Doctor, but it seemed that that event was the only time he and his friend had used the time travel device. It was something that while Night Wolf had looked into it had proved too volatile to use in any practical sense.

It saddened Lethbridge Stewart, but it did explain the fury with which Harry fought the Death Eaters, that he had seen a school mate murdered at such a young age, and then to see his godfather murdered the following year…

He listened with interest as Harry recounted his journey thus far this year, his discoveries, the wood and shielding devices such as the ones Lethbridge Stewart had witnessed in Tellus and his study of calling on the Gods and Goddess.

He watched Birmingham nod appreciatively at this knowledge, Birmingham was proficient in many forms of Sorcery including various things that Harry had mentioned.

"So that's it." Harry said glancing at them, himself and Birmingham looked back at the young man, who despite telling them his life story seemed very calm…

"Harry, you've done more, gone through more than most UNIT officers. I think both myself and Birmingham have an offer to make." The Brig started before Birmingham made the offer, glancing at the Brig again.

"We want to help you prepare. Through different avenues of magic and the technology that UNIT has been developing. Train you further, for this war…" Birmingham added.

"Train you in all the weapons we have here, that we're developing, the others that we're testing." The Brigadier paused, Harry was nodding. "We'd like you to help us, as a person, to work out everything to prepare for the war. We're making this offer to you as the generation coming forth. That's why we're not making it to the Ministry or to Dumbledore, neither of them seem ready to fight for the world." The Brigadier finished only lightly bitterly.

"Well. Umm. Yeah I accept. I'd love to. So cool gadgets and stuff." Harry grinned making Lethbridge Stewart chuckle.

From there on Harry spend most of his time with Birmingham, Scott and Captain Jones, as part of his training.

Lethbridge Stewart still had to deal with the increasing reports of 'activity' both the Death Eaters and the minisirty's 'muggle relations' which seemed to consist of groups of wand users going to some, not all though affected areas, wiping their memories and repairing and replacing items, buildings and whatever. Much of the time it left the residents of the town with 'black out' periods, and other such jarring elements such as missing time, jarring events and houses not the colour or locations they should be.

As he was reading through another report the phone rang.

"Birmingham? What is it? Yes…just a moment." The Brigadier tapped a control on his computer and glanced at the large screen on the wall which flicked from the UNIT logo to a security camera view, a ship, _the ship_, the ship that had been grown/built from remains of something they'd found, it had the original samples had readings of a inter-dimensional crossing.

"That's _the ship_ Birmingham." He said looking at the image, but it seemed to be twitching, ever so slightly the same way it did when they had tried to find a pilot for it.

"_That's Harry." _Birmingham said over the phone.

"What the devil…?" Lethbridge Stewart muttered.

"_Well we thought we'd give him a shot in the ship…yes this ship_."

"Stop the ship from leaving the base, god knows…remember what happened the last time?" Birmingham muttered…not much had happened, the air trials were going fine when the ship just 'decided' to dump the pilot in a nearby loch, then it returned to the hanger, all the tests couldn't say exactly why it had done it, and the pilot…he now worked in Antarctica, as far as he could away from the ship.

"_How exactly should I try and stop him?"_ Cam Birmingham's amused voice over the phone.

The Brigadier was thinking of something when the ship disappeared from the screen, he groaned and punched in a command to the computer finding the frequency that Harry and Birmingham were using.

"_Night Wolf can you hear me, over?" _Came Harry's voice albeit a little nervous.

"_Harry this is a secure signal. Where are you?" _The Brig smiled, at least Birmingham was calm.

"_Above the clouds. This is an amazing craft, I've never felt anything like it. Tell Firefox to expect me when they see me. I want to see how we do. Over." _This made the Brig smile, not just because the Harry hadn't been dumped in a loch, but that he had realised, or known to sign out. It had taken him a long time to make the Doctor say 'over' when they were using radios.

Glancing at the computer on his screen it showed the teleport stone that Harry had on him being tracked by the equipment in Night Wolf, it disappeared somewhere above the atmosphere.

Frowning he pulled up the communications relay with…he glanced at the shedule. RSCS Firefox.

"_This is the RSCS Firefox, repeat Identify yourself or we will consider you hostile." _Lethbridge Stewart raised an eyebrow…but it was good that they were on the ball, however he didn't want Harry to be blown out of the sky by several of the weapons on board the Firefox.

He clicked onto the computer opening the radio frequency between Night Wolf and Firefox.

"RSCS Firefox, this is Greyhound Leader, Night Wolf. Ship on sensors is an unscheduled experimental ship. It is non-hostile, repeat non-hostile, Greyhound Leader, Night Wolf, Out." There was a few moments pause.

"_Received Alpha One, confirmed, Firefox, Out."_

Lethbridge Stewart paused as Firefox connected their sensor stream to Night Wolf. On the screen displayed RSCS Firefox's location, the 'unknown vessel' and other things the sensors registered.

Then suddenly the 'unknown vessel' disappeared from the sensor image.

Lethbridge Stewart was already out of his office and walking at a quick pace towards the hanger.

"Never a quiet moment…" He muttered to himself as he entered the hanger and saw the ship sitting there, he glared at it, if he was into anthropomorphising things he could have sworn the ship was smug.

"Mr Potter, Harry. How did you, how were you, how did…?" Birmingham was looking at the smug looking ship.

"Never thought you'd be gob smacked Thomas." The Brig smiled at Birmingham.

"What happened Harry?" The Brig asked calmly.

"Brigadier it was… I don't know. The ship is sentient. I felt I could talk to it." Harry rushed out seemingly out of breath and excited.

'_He's doing better than most…_' Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself, although Potter had already been on board RSCS Firefox it was another thing to exit the atmosphere and come 'face to face' with a space ship…all within 48 hours.

"But considering I sometimes talk to myself I guess that's not surprising." Harry paused thinking for a second. "Anyways, I was thinking, sitting in there, since I couldn't see any doors if, since this it is partly magical or organic or something if we could apparate. And we did."

"You keep saying we?" Birmingham said eyeing the craft warily.

"Me and the craft it was like we were working together flying it. I think you have to get into it knowing that you work together, it's not something you instantly know how to fly it has to know you and then you with it, it lets you feel as much as you need to from what ever you're doing. It's an amazing craft." He paused looking to the Brigadier and then back to Birmingham and Barry Davis who was in charge of the small air division that was located at Night Wolf, a separate division from the large ship building facilities of the Northern Highlands and Gibson Desert facilities.

"Birmingham, do you have any books on animagus transformations, I've got a one or two, I'd like to investigate something." Harry asked glancing upwards, he didn't seem to be out of breath or anything.

"We have some. Maybe tomorrow." Birmingham smiled patting Harry on the back.

Lethbridge Stewart walked slowly back to his office shaking his head.

It was never a quiet moment at Night Wolf…but at least is wasn't an unquiet moment as in alien invasions…and alien beings taking control of local towns…and aliens crawling from the sewers…

This was a much more interesting life at Night Wolf…

**--/**

The events of this chapter occur co-current with Chapter 13 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space

No future chapters will draw so directly from Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space.

There will continue to be varying emphasis on Night Wolf, UNIT and other events in the world.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 14 – All things change**

The Brigadier spent much of the rest of the week signing off on various requests, many from Birmingham to assist with Harry Potter's training.

Birmingham seemed to feel some great debt that he had to repay to Mr Potter…Lethbridge Stewart could understand…but he felt more angry towards Dumbledore for stopping Birmingham from delivering the information of the prophecy to Mr Potter…and the damn Ministry for Magic for binding Birmingham's knowledge of it so he couldn't _directly _enlist any assistance to contact the young man himself.

As a result it was the Brigadier's 'turn' to go and meet the new 'recruits', these were people who were constantly being brought in from the Royal Marines, the RAF, the Navy, and various other professions such as architects, engineers, scientists…etc.

The Gibson Desert facility operated its own program, bringing people in for the Australian armed forces, however once briefed on Night Wolf they were sent over to Night Wolf Command for more detailed briefing…Lethbridge Stewart was in discussion with Professor Preston who oversaw operations at the Gibson Desert facility to introduce a larger sorcery division…but with Voldemort's war heating, it was thought by the commanders of all three Night Wolf bases that for now it was best to have their assets in different baskets.

As far as the meeting of new recruits, it was some what unusual that the commander of the base would meet them. But Night Wolf was a training, research and development command, and the current teams were broken up going through new training programs or working together with the other two facilities to create security squads both for the ships and as alternate sites of deployment.

Also, the Brigadier thought to himself, it was good to get out and stretch the legs.

The meeting would take place outside of Night Wolf, at one of the UNIT Night Wolf training grounds, a short distance away, but it did involve leaving Night Wolf and driving out to old farmhouse, which sat in the middle of a largely empty, but cut off from most civilisation.

There were 4 Land Rovers waiting which meant 20 new recruits, they were given maps and had obviously made their way there.

It was a simple group building exercise for the teams that were joining Night Wolf, they had all come from various forces and when they were in their Land Rovers there was usually one person from each of the armed forces…

UNIT didn't eradicate that from their record, they were working within Night Wolf and UNIT while still remaining part of the British (or Australian for that matter) armed forces, another complicated strategy courtesy of Professor Moore and the others at Geneva.

Walking past the land rovers he ran a hand over the bonnet of one of them, it was cold, they had been there for some time it was comparably a rather light day and the ambient temperature would only affect it so much.

As Lethbridge Stewart closed in on the farm house he reached into his pocket pushing the small button which would activate the jamming device, it was a 'conventional' jamming device which would jam all conventional monitoring devices which the teams would no doubt have with them.

As he knocked on the door it was wrenched open by a Lieutenant holding what looked like…a weapon made of paper.

He allowed himself to smile, they had been given no weapons but there was enough equipment within the farm house to…construct something given enough time and lateral thinking.

The lieutenant snapped to attention, but didn't drop, nor did her move it away from where he was aiming it.

"Lieutenant." Lethbridge Stewart said in a level tone.

"General, Sir." He said firmly. Lethbridge Stewart paused to look not at the young man but at the weapon, it appeared to be a crude crossbow.

"Very imaginative Lieutenant. I am sure you will find your next post interesting…"

"Sir?"

"Night Wolf Lieutenant, or did you believe I was just some random stranger wondering the moors?" Lethbridge Stewart asked in an amused tone.

"Yes sir…I mean no sir…"

Lethbridge Stewart smiled.

"Good."

General Lethbridge Stewart briefed them for a couple of minutes as to the 'entrance' of Night Wolf.

The entrance and location of Night Wolf command differed drastically.

The primary entrance point was actually some distance away inside a farming area, it was also where many of Night Wolf's vehicles were located.

The farm was a working cover, it was where much of Night Wolf Command's fresh produce was grown, it also provided an area for UNIT's ground vehicles to depart and enter from.

Lethbridge Stewart explained to the new recruits where they were and what to expect during this initial introduction period, as they arrived at the main Night Wolf area.

He dropped them in the medical lab for a thorough check and work up prior to them actually beginning work with Night Wolf proper.

Walking back to his office he passed the Xeno-Biology department, Birmingham had the door open as he was walking out.

Lethbridge Stewart paused looking in, Harry Potter was in there, with Liz Gibson…and he had wings…black leathery wings.

Birmingham closed the door turning to Lethbridge Stewart who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Have fun with the troops Brigadier?"

"We should review what we give them to play with."

"They're getting smarter, always a good thing." He smirked satisfactorily to himself.

"Was that Mr Potter?" Lethbridge Stewart asked as he continued back towards his office.

"Yes."

Lethbridge Stewart simply nodded as he pushed open the door to his offices and took a sheath of paper from his desk.

"This is the schedule that has been worked up for Mr Potter…are you sure he can handle it Birmingham?" Lethbridge Stewart asked as Birmingham flipped through the pages.

"I believe so, he's had…a time of it Brigadier. Now that we're a little less in the dark with regards to Mr Potter…" Birmingham sighed massaging his temples.

"It's only going to get worse Brigadier, and Harry and this prophecy…"

"Yes…" He nodded, Lethbridge Stewart had intended to make a call to Ancelyn, for…well Harry Potter was as much a warrior as anyone within Night Wolf and he had faced more…more horrors than many of the new 'recruits' that were currently within Night Wolf Command.

"I'll give this to Harry tomorrow to start his…"

"Training. Yes Birmingham…make sure he doesn't burn out."

"There's no chance of that Brigadier…" Birmingham said with a grin. "I think he's taking it all with good humour."

"And just the smallest amount of sarcasm." Lethbridge Stewart muttered as Birmingham nodded and walked out.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 15 – First flight of the Victory**

Katie Sanderson looked around the bridge of her new vessel, she'd flown with both the Royal Airforce and then later with UNIT air command, she'd flown, experienced so much, she'd been to UNIT's moon base a many times with the cargo run, trained with them in lower gravity, flown harriers during the aborted 'invasion of the clan of Great Britain' as those who remembered it knew it had been called in some circles.

Now she had her own ship, UNIT had promoted, now Group Captain Katie Sanderson…or just Captain to her crew of the Royal Space Core Ship _Victory._

The bridge wasn't laid out in any way that corresponded with any _Earth _based vessels.

From her captain's chair there were three huge screens visible, there were two stations in front of her, there was a further station to the far left and right.

Behind the Captain's chair and a position that occupied much of the rear of the bridge held the SSC officer's position.

The secondary systems coordinator was one of the most important during any mission and much day to day running of the ship.

The SSC officer would coordinate with the various departments throughout the ship, battle strategy analysis, linguistics (and diplomacy), sensor analysis, engine and power control and various other departments, their relevant information would be sent to the SSC who would relate it back to the captain.

The SSC was a high stress position which required a quick and lateral thinker and someone who could handle themselves in a crunch.

The captain wasn't excluded in the technology department, above her chair was what many had described as the periscope, simply because it was, it provided a real time, uninterrupted by technology view of the outside space area through a series of high precision mirrors and lens which were displayed on a screen on the periscope arm.

The periscope would also display various other information for the captain during normal operations.

Walking around the bridge she nodded to the officers who were manning the 'night' shift, although technically there wasn't any night in space, but the ship still operated under a 24 hour system for convenience's sake.

Captain Sanderson looked at the three screens two of which were displaying the area around a 180 degree view of the bow, starboard and port side of the ship.

The third screen displayed various sensor detail, location of satellites that would, if the ship hadn't been hidden to all but those who knew by the Fidelius charm, and various other information.

Captain Sanderson nodded to herself and walked out of the bridge.

For the past month they had been completing various trails and checks on the new ship, while all the crew, herself included had experience in other ships, there was still fine tuning, understanding and training on the _Victory _her ship.

Various trails and small cruises around the solar system and to just outside their solar system.

But tomorrow they would have scientists and other personnel from Night Wolf and would start their _official _shakedown.

Extended use of the hyperspace window generator engines, some exploration and a chance to give the new Thylacine fighters a test flight in unfamiliar space.

---

Captain Sanderson walked around the bridge as reports came in of various piece of equipment coming aboard and other personnel getting ready for their first 'official' journey.

"Captain, request from Night Wolf hanger, specialist fighter coming from the surface." Sanderson nodded to her SSC officer, she'd been informed by Barry Davis that one of the team was bringing…_that _craft. The craft that she'd and quite a few others had tried to tame.

"Put it up, I want to see the…craft." Two of the screens switched from forward 180 to one facing Earth and a second facing out of the open cargo bay.

"Got a lock, it's just exiting the atmosphere…" The screen in front of her showed the ship, a ring around it indicated its speed, although anyone who needed to know it's speed already had it on their own monitors, the data would also be down in sensor analysis and probably in battle analysis as well considering this small ship was the only thing of an unknown quality currently approaching the RSCS Victory.

As the coms call came in Sanderson was surprised, despite herself, the voice sounded surprisingly young, and while she had been briefed by the General, it was still interesting to hear the pilot's voice.

"Ship landed."

"Lock down the bay doors." She turned towards the front of the bridge. "Check all systems, that imbalance should be sorted out, double check the coordinates for Research Outpost 5, and let's get on the road." She said suppressing a smile.

A few moments later a young man, and an older one stepped onto the bridge, Captain Sanderson turned and nodded to both of them.

"Captain Jones, Mr Potter…"

"Captain Sanderson." Jones nodded a salute, Potter just looked around in…not quite wonder…but certainly intrigue.

"Let's get going shall we…" She smiled and looked towards the front of the bridge. "Coordinates locked in?"

"Locked in, hyper drive engines ready."

"Good, well, let's get going." She leaned into her chair.

"Hyperdrive ready and activating." The officer at the front of the bridge stated, slightly unnecessarily, but it was their first full flight and Captain Sanderson said they'd do it all by the book. "Hyperspace bubble forming…" From the 180 view Sanderson watched as the blue of the hyperspace bubble stretched back and around the ship. "Entering edge of hyperspace, coordinates are stable."

Then the blue light of hyperspace was streaking past the ship.

"Bring us up to full power on the window generators…"

"Yes Captain."

She rose and wandered over to where Mr Potter was discussing their destination.

"Couldn't help overhear Mr Potter." She paused glancing over at her screen near her chair. "We'll be arriving at P-788-248 within 25 minutes."

"Cool. Fast." He said, he seemed to be slightly dazzled by the whole experience.

"Very."

But if they had minerals, and of course the navigational beacons to create a genuine hyperspace network they could transverse the space in even quicker, and without the massive power drain that occurred when they brought the engines up to absolute 100 of power output.

She walked back over to Alexander Jackson her SSC officer.

"How's our power?" This was always one of the…not so much a problem, but it was always something you kept an eye on.

"All engines are at full output, we're reading…" He tapped a few buttons on his keyboard. "90 percent on all three primary reactors, 85 percent on the two secondary and 70 percent on the two tertiary reactors."

"She's one hell of a beast." She said mainly to herself. "No problems though."

"No captain, got a report from the power and engine control, the minor imbalance was just a minor output problem with the manoeuvring engines."

"Fixed?" She asked.

"Nothing to fix, but it's not a problem any more." He smiled.

"Good." She nodded to him before settling back into her chair.

Alexander was one of the many UNIT officers who wasn't part of the armed forces, however Alexander was recommended for his position.

The role of SSC was one of the more complex requiring the officer to complete many complicated assessments and assignments while at their position, it also required an intimate and detailed knowledge of the ship and its systems.

Alexander Jackson was an electrical engineer, with a degree in History, specialising in battle strategy through the ages, although the battle strategy she learnt only later when they began to work together.

The _Victory _was, like the _Hattah _and _Firefox _limited to one main SSC officer and another officer in training for that role and others, someone with a passion for the ship and the work.

It was a matter of training and _learning _about the systems and the ship, it wasn't, something Sanderson learned very early on in her career that could be learnt in simulators, or from reading books. You could gain some of the theory from that, but you had to actually _be _there, to _learn _how the ship behaved, to assemble the information and bring the relevant information to the captain.

The SSC was effectively the captain's 2IC (second in command), having access to far more information than anyone else on the ship, and it was their job to display and bring to attention the most relevant and pertinent to the situation this became vital during an engagement or during complex manoeuvring.

"Approaching coordinates of Research Outpost 5."

Smiling to herself she waited for the slightly jostle at the ship left from the hyperspace window generated by the ship's engines.

The image on the screens transitioned from the blue and white sweeping past the ship to the black of space and ahead of them a small green/blue planet, which bore no resemblance to Earth.

The planet, which aside from having Research Outpost 5 on it had no actual name, except for the code given by the analysts and researchers who gleaned the information from various alien databases back on Earth P-788-42.

Captain Sanderson touched the screen to her side bringing up the initial sensor information.

P788 was roughly the size of Mars, with three 'moons' which could be described as orbiting asteroids rather than moons.

"Bring us into a synchronous orbit with the Outpost, prepare to start trasmatting down the supplies and teleporting Captain Jones and his team."

"Captain." Alexander acknowledged.

RSCS _Victory _swept easily from it's point in space over to area above the planet which lined up to the Outpost's location.

"Captain? Mr Potter has been delivered to…the _Shadow Blaze_…"

"Then by all means grant permission, open the bay doors. How's the transfer of supplies going?"

"80 of supplies away, another 10 minutes and we'll have it all down."

"Good. Make sure Parkes has his squad kitted up for launch."

The captain could tell Alexander was smiling without turning around.

"Squadron Leader Parkes has had his squad kitted up and standing by since we left from Earth captain."

She nodded. Parkes had excellent training in zero-grav piloting he had piloted the Earth – lunar base run many times, he had also had a huge amount of training in the Thylacines including many of the initial prototypes.

Finishing it's resupply of Outpost 5 RSCS Victory moved out of orbit towards the outer planets of the binary star system.

_Victory _easily moved through the system its 5 engines powering it forth, 3 of the engines were primary while the other two were for manoeuvring and allowed for greater control during any engagement that they may encounter.

RSCS Victory slowed to a stop between the two outermost planets of the system, a large desolate planet of an unknown composition that they would be determining its contents and a planet which according to the initial survey completed by Firefox was gaseous or an ice based planetoid.

"Ready to deploy Thylacines."

"Launch."

The Victory wasn't small by any measure of the world, in fact it, like the _ASCS Hattah _and the almost completed _Flinders _it was marginally larger than the Firefox.

Victory was approximately 400 meters long, 220 wide and 180 high, the large engines at the back and the engine and power room sat at the stern of the ship, from there the gravity field was cast forth around the ship giving the occupants of the ship near Earth gravity.

All the research, scientific and analysis labs, groups and personnel were within the main portions of the gravity field.

The bridge sat roughly 3/4 of the way forward from the engine and power section and at the very edge of the gravity field in the centre of the ship, this allowed them easy of movement and the rest of the ship maximum space for their analysis etc.

Forward of the bridge were various zero grav storage bays and the Thylacine docks.

These opened up on the port and starboard sides of the ship, 2 bays on either side opened up allowing 4 in each bay of the small yet powerful Thylacine fighters to slip out of the vast ship.

The Thylacines would re-enter the ship via a single channel at the bow of the ship hidden behind various charms and large herculanium blast doors.

The Thylacines were the fighter craft designed and build by the Australian facility in the Gibson Desert, a single person fighter craft which would operate in space only (in keeping with the UN's orders for no fighter craft that could be used within the atmosphere).

The Thylacine was an compacted X shaped craft with the pilot standing in the centre of the craft to minimise the effects of the gravitational forces while piloting.

The craft had four omni-directional engines and could stay in battle for around 20 hours without requiring to return to the ship to recharge its power.

Captain Katie Sanderson couldn't help but smile watching the Thylacines launch.

Of course she'd seen them launch before, watched them launch from her own ship in the trials, and final testing.

But this was real world, with a full crew, all the Thylacine pilots part of her crew and they were out in the middle of another system.

She smiled again to herself.

"Successful launch captain, Squadron Leader Parkes requests to begin manoeuvrers." Reported the communications officer to her right, she nodded.

"Sensor analysis has begun captain and battle strategy have formed up a battle space of the local are."

"Already?" She asked SSC surprised, the 'battle space' was the area of space which the occupied that was available to their sensors, scanners and their visual range, built up into an easily read and interpreted battle space that could be sent to various craft such as Thylacines and also other UNIT vessels allowing for different perspectives or covert analysis from various points of view.

The far right screen swapped from a view from the stern to set of graphic representations and small images of the real world objects. You could see in the battle space the Thylacines performing various manoeuvres, the planet behind them and other things such as the two suns and the other two planets in their vicinity.

Captain Katie Sanderson walked through the corridors of her ship, it was 'night', more or less.

The sensor analysis people were still working, though many of them had admitted that even they required rest…a little after she'd ordered them off for some food and rest she herself had left the bridge to Lt Russell for the evening.

Walking into her rooms she thumbed the iPod sitting on the desk bringing some music to the room balancing out the hum of the ship.

Looking around she sort of wished the ship had window…although she'd rather have a structurally sound ship than a thing with windows which could blow in any given battle.

---

Sanderson was reading over the initial analysis of the liquid, she'd earlier authorised samples to be transmatted off the planetoid.

The liquid was more or less water, with various trace impurities, many of which they were still identifying.

"Captain…" Alexander started sounding a little…uncertain.

"Alexander?" She asked casually as she flicked off the analysis to a scan of the battle space, there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary.

"Battle analysis were doing a scan of the other planet, they're picking up something…" He said his as he flicked through the various screens whilst typing over the keyboard in front of him.

"Care to elaborate?"

"It's at edge of this system…we're only picking up vague energy emissions, nothing tangible at this range."

"Get the Thylacines into a defensive pattern around us." She said to the communications officer before turning back to Alexander. "Get the sensor analysis…"

"They're already on it."

"Already on what?" She asked curiously.

"They've stopped their analysis of the planets and focusing on the…whatever it is."

The captain smiled before turning back towards the front of the bridge, she felt the shift in the gravity of the ship as the gravity field altered as the engines engaged, absorbing much of the inertia involved as the ship moved.

Outside the thylacines manoeuvred around falling into a standard defensive position around the ship, one thylacine above, one below at the bow and stern of the ship, another two half way along the ship on both the starboard and port side of the ship. They flew at the same speed as the ship which currently wasn't at its full speed.

"Anything?"

"Analysis is still coming in…"

"Can we see anything?" She could hear Alexander working furiously behind her she flicked through the screen on her own periscope bringing up the available to her.

She could just about make out…something even with the various visual enhancements added to the image.

It was…something, in fact she could only make it out by what wasn't there, the stars behind the whatever would occasionally blot out for a moment.

"Captain…Captain.." She'd tuned out everything while studying the view…not something a captain should do.

"Yes Alexander…?"

"Got an image…more of an energy analysis…" The left hand side screen at the front of the bridge cut out displaying an image of the space ahead of them, various rings and what seemed like a silhouette gave an impression of what was ahead.

"Battle analysis suggest that there are two vessels, one is firing on the other…"

"Get linguistics to send basic number and language codes, and a standard hail. Battle Alert Alexander." Captain Sanderson said calmly.

Alexander Jackson touched a control in front of him, a light around the ship switched on flashing blue alerting the crew to the battle situation, whilst all internal doors closed shut reinforcing structural integrity.

All weapons divisions came to readiness, all interceptors placements came online and the scanning systems became ready for incoming fire.

Had the thylacines not been launched they would have been prepped to launch, while the actual order to launch would have come from the captain.

"No response from hail captain…"

"Well Alexander, sensor analysis got anything?"

"Real time image coming up now, the sensor guys are filtering it, it looks like they're using some sort of energy weapons and deflection gear to shield themselves…"

"Like a force-field?"

"Battle analysis say no…it's more a jamming field, though they're not sure which ship it's coming from."

The image flicked up replacing the silhouetted image, while leaving the centre screen showing the blackness of space in front of them with some more visible fluctuating patterns of space.

"Approaching energy field."

The RSCS Victory slowed as it approached the area, from their now closer viewpoint they could make out two ships, one firing something at the other.

"High probability of weapons fire…"

"Are they making any attempt to change course towards us?"

"No, they're…we're receiving a signal from the ship that's being attacked."

"Translation?" Captain Sanderson asked as she watched the screen, they only had a partial idea of where the ship was, if they started firing weapons now they might hit the other ship which was also within the jamming field…even if they relied on line of sight…

"Alert thylacines, prepare for assault on attacking craft." She ordered her communications officer.

"Thylacines report ready, breaking defensive, reforming to a standard attack formation…"

Outside the ship the thylacines broke formation quickly reforming into a standard V attack formation, they were still some distance from the target.

"Alexander, what's linguistics' take on it?" She asked impatiently.

In one of the many labs inside the RSCS Victory held the linguistics and diplomacy lab and department for the UNIT vessel, in it held various computers with databases canalised and partially translated pieces of alien text, all as references for the linguistics department to work with…

Unfortunately many of the databases came from various points in time, and some may or may not have originated outside of this universe.

Then there was the fact that one of their largest sources of information came from a Dalek information and communication system, and while it might be able to translate something…it did so into native Skaro, leaving the linguistics to translate it back into English.

Alexander was meanwhile sorting, checking and reading through the various reports coming in from the various departments throughout the ship, readiness reports from the weapons departments, from power and engine control, analysis of the battle space, battle projections and firing solutions, sensor sweeps of the surrounding system for other ships.

"Nothing yet captain, they say it's going to take a while, they've got nothing so far."

"Ah hell." She muttered to herself.

"Analysis of the ships suggest transmat attack…the jamming field is on a similar frequency, analysis suggest they are transmatting over while jamming the other ship." Alexander rattled off quickly.

"Suggests, I thought you'd get scrabbled inside out if you tried that?"

"If _we _tried it."

Sanderson shook her head. "Thylacines attack on line of sight only, no instruments, who knows what this jamming field will do to the sensors."

"Aye captain."

The Thylacines moved forward, their small but powerful engines pushed them forward away from the _Victory _the space in front of them was…warped slightly to the naked eye. But as they drew closer towards the field the could make out two ship, one was burning, burning red and yellow fire.

Burning an oxygen atmosphere.

They would get a clear shot in 20 seconds.

10 seconds away the attacking ship seemed to see them.

"Break formation!" Parkes shouted as the ship spun to face them, scattering, the thylacines spinning on their own axis corkscrewing away while targeting the ship and opening fire.

At almost the same time the ship completed a tight back flip seemingly latching onto the ship it was attacking.

On the bridge captain Sanderson watched Parkes's squad perform a textbook break and scatter manoeuvre and began firing at the ship, before the balls of energy launched out from the Thylacines could hit their mark both ships were unveiled in a red glow…and disappeared.

"What…"

"Unknown…analysis underway…"

"Get the squad to do a thorough search of the area, go over it with scanners, get them to do an searches as well, I want to know everything about what happened."

A few days later Captain Sanderson walked down through the main corridor of the ship towards the various labs, set away from the sensor, battle and linguistics departments were other labs similar to what could be found in any relatively good research facility.

Here they were analysing and studying the samples from the two planets, plus the minute samples that had been recovered from the 'altercation' that they had witnessed.

After getting a brief verbal report, an informal 'how's it going?' she continued on to the linguistics department who had informed her that they had…something.

"Captain…thank you for coming down…"

"Have you worked out the transmission?"

"…" the lead doctor in front of her stayed silent looking a little guilty.

"I'll take that as a no." She said leaning on one of the desks.

"Not precisely captain…" He said leaning onto his own desk and hit a few keys, one side of the room were large wall sized screen, they changed to display two things, a image of static and a second image of…some form of text.

The captain glanced at it and then back at the doctor.

He smiled nervously.

"We've managed to separate out the transmission, it was a video transmission of some sort…there may have been some audio…we're not sure…"

"And this second part?"

"Text…we think it might be a distress call."

"How?"

"Generally distress calls…anything from the basic SOS, to the more complicated used by various species that we have catalogued follow a repeating pattern, usually with a basic description or plea…we're not sure yet who they are…however it was a language that was spoken…"

"Rather than?"

"A separate written language to the spoken one…this eliminates many within out databases." Another scientist added.

"Right…" She said slowly. They didn't know who they were…but it was something.

"What about the other ship?" She asked hoping maybe that they'd got something that was missed during the heat of the moment.

"Nothing, nothing they transmitted…battle analysis asked us to look over the battle from a sociological stand point…" He paused. "But as far as working up a sociological profile based on how a species pilot's their ship…we haven't got much to base out findings on captain…I couldn't begin to think about it…except that we have started to think about it…" He added with a smile.

The captain shook her head with a smile.

Inside another lab totally unlike the linguistics lab, even though it was the same size, there were screens around the room, and in the centre of the room, while there were some private desks near the back. It had the feel of a planning and war room…which was pretty much what it was.

"Captain…" She stared at him. He hit a button showing the ships from various angles and different sensor perspectives.

"The ship was being attacked…although not with weapons, the initial supposition was correct, they were trying to take something from the ship…watch there." He had a remote of some kind in his hand and freeze framed the image showing a side of the ship and then an explosion in the middle. "We think they were taking whatever the ship had then detonating small charges to blow out the atmosphere in the ship."

"Any ideas on the species of the attacking ship?"

"It has transmat technology, the energy analysis proves that, they've got some sort of space warping technology…"

The captain listened as a vague picture was built.

"One other thing captain…the species…judging by how they used their technology and the construction of the ship, they…the species are not humanoid, or if they are they're no taller than 75 cm."

Later that week RSCS _Victory _was once again in orbit around P788 above Research Outpost 5.

Transmatting up to the ship various discoveries they had made, including several species of wood which had many things in common with the magical woods the sorcerers used.

According to the raved reports from the biology labs it could 'revolutionise and change the manner in which they constructed their ships'.

The work in deciphering the fragment of the message they had received was progressing slowly.

Captain Sanderson flicked through a set of buttons bringing of the cleaned up image of the two vessels.

On her personal screen in front of her was a picture which had been cleaned up from the various scans of the 'altercation' both from Victory's own sensors and from the Thylacines.

The picture showed the two vessels, the unknown attacking ship was a dark colour, possibly a very dark red.

There were notes accompanying the image, but it wasn't the first time she'd looked at the image.

The second vessel, was something different, the various departments were working on 'best guesses' for now, the two ships did not conform to anything in their various databases…for now, or it may be that the images were too distorted to gain a match. The only thing…aside they had gleaned from the sensor data of the attack ship was that they were definitely oxygen breathers and their ship was build in an atmosphere and designed to land.

That wasn't much…but it was more they had when they started.

**--//**

_I'm not sure about this chapter, it's almost triple the length of my previous chapters._

_I know not a lot is going on here…but I really wanted to show that this isn't Star Trek, they can't hit a button and a computer will work it all out, their technology is pieced together from varying sources, things take time to work out. _

_Also the question of opening fire on the ship, this is the Victory's shakedown cruise, also in a battle situation there are clear cut lines ie; if you're shot at you fight back. This doesn't happen…and since they can't communicate and were unsure of what was actually happening… well they needed more information._

_Both species will be seen and elaborated on in future chapters (not quite sure how future), however both species have been featured in Doctor Who (in one and many of its forms)._

_The next time a chapter features a lot of scenes in space it will be more action (and some drama)._


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 16 – Hogwarts Express**

Major Casey walked casually through Kings Cross station, he and his 4 man squad were 'patrolling and observing'…however they were cleared to use extreme force should the situation require it.

It had been getting steadily worse in London, especially around this time with wand users out more often in the central London district.

While most of the assaults within the London central area had been mainly 'memory modifications' many which had been clumsily placed, there had been other more physical assaults performed by wand users while they were 'getting supplies'.

It wasn't unusual that the wand users ventured outside of Diagon Alley, however nor was it common, only some wand users conducted business outside, but their movement throughout the city was enough to cause some…suspicion in the greater population, it was a much more subtle violation of their spaces that got the population worried.

A blank area of your memory, or a person suddenly appearing…or a carriage drawn by 'horseless' or worse skeletal horses was much easier to remember than a space ship landing in the middle of Trafalgar Square.

Today was one of the days that General Lethbridge Stewart had ordered his team, and others out for.

In previous years it hadn't been as bad, but this year, Voldemort's 'Death Eaters' were out in force, in the last few weeks he and most other teams had been out in the field on _Earth _rather than off planet.

_Ah ha…here we go. _Casey thought to himself as he watched three figures who looked like they were going to a night at the opera…during a medieval reproduction walk through Kings Cross purposefully.

Two of the figures looked like they'd overdone it with the peroxide something chronic, the woman walked as though she had something wedged up her arse.

"Scorpion you have a go." He muttered into the radio link in his label.

"_Roger Kestrel, progressing to target."_

Lieutenant Hays walked casually into the Kings Cross car park, and looked around. There wasn't anything out of place, nothing out of the ordinary and considering what day it was and which train was leaving later this morning that was what was out of the ordinary.

Reaching into his pocket he withdrew the first tube of dust, a combination of magical herbs, a standard weighting agent of sand and a dried potion which had been assembled for him.

He wasn't quite a Sorcerer, he didn't have all the training required of that particular rank, but he'd had quite a bit of field training and was even thinking about putting in for the extra training to get a Sorcerer's ranking.

Weighing the tube in his hand he looked around for the best place to start, they'd considered a magical jammer, but it was still slightly too heavy for a covert squad to carry around and set up.

Guessing that the target would park his means of travel as close to the he walked back to the entrance towards the station.

Concentrating as he did on feelings of 'wrongness', on the way the wind moved around…for scents just below normal recognition…

He almost announced with an 'ah ha!' when he realised that the…whatever it was, was about 10 meters to the left from the station, however he just patted inside his jacket, the stun/kill weapon they'd been cleared to carry.

Taking one final glance around at the people, but everyone was focussed on where they were going rather on the man walking over to a space which everyone just walked by preferring to think that there was nothing there.

Tipping the dusty concoction into his hand he held it for a moment against the wind, taking a deep breath Lt Hays blew the dust towards the…hidden thing.

"Reveal, reveal…." He muttered, concentrating on the area…slowly he watched the dust flick around, almost latching itself onto the…the carriage and horses which slowly appeared, revealed before him.

And a man with a wand, who was looking around holding the reigns to the horses in one hand…and a wand in the other, he had enough time to stare at Lt Hays before he was shot with a red beam.

The horses barely stirred.

Lt Hays smiled to himself and walked casually up to the carriage and opened up the door.

Taking a minute camera from within his jacket he quickly took a set of photos.

It was implausibly big inside, and plush, much like a limousine, except it was made of completely natural fibres and materials.

Taking one final glance around he stepped back carefully shutting the door.

Replacing the camera in his pocket with withdrew the tracking device, a piece of composite material similar to the teleport 'rocks' which the UNIT vessels and the Gibson Desert facility uses.

He took a small bottle and squeezed a portion of silicon onto it, affix it to the back underside of the carriage.

Stepping back from the carriage as the particles he'd blown onto the carriage had blown off, the charm which had hidden it from sight was still active, and as less and less of the dust was near it the carriage became…less solid, but he still knew it was there.

"Kestrel, device placed, returning to secondary observation point." He muttered as he walked back to the main entrance of the station.

"_Received Scorpion." _Major Casey muttered, the two blonds had just 'disappeared' through a brick wall.

According to their briefing there wasn't anything stopping you from walking through the brick wall…just a slight resistance so that anyone could lean against it, without falling into the wand users' train station.

"_Kestrel, this is Crow, eye ball on Raven, in company of 3 additional…"_ There was a pause.

"Crow, status of Raven?" He muttered as he pretended to check the times of the incoming train.

"_Raven is under surveillance, wand'rs approx 2 under cloaks."_

"Keep your distance Crow…do not intercept. Keep under observation."

"_Eye Kestrel. Crow Out."_

Major Casey nodded to himself, the General and Sorcerer Birmingham had informed them that Harry Potter would probably be under _Dumbledore's_ surveillance, Harry was a great guy…with a shit deal, but a great aim and a quick learner and was one of the wand users who wasn't a wolf who hadn't…cracked the shits when he'd found out about Night Wolf…not like a few of the other wand users.

As it approached 11am Major Casey hit the small button inside his lapel.

"Jackal, go for insertion."

"_Roger Kestrel. Approaching insertion point."_ Major Casey walked slowly away from the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4, passing Jackal, or Jackie Williams as he walked away half way down the station.

"Standby to assemble at defence positions." He said clearly as he positioned himself to wait and watch.

Both General Lethbridge Stewart and Sorcerer Birmingham had informed them of the possibility of a large scale attack on the station by Death Eaters.

While it was unlikely they would attack in the morning with no Hogwarts students to witness…or join in, it was still a possibility.

Sorcerer Jackie Williams walked calmly, yet swiftly up to the barrier, she knew it was a barrier…she'd read the various manuals, yet…it still made her skin crawl walking through one.

After a second or three of blackness the world resolved itself out into a station, much like the one she'd just left. Just without the cigarette butts, empty drink cans and a slight smell of diesel.

Instead there was the heavy smell of burning coal, most likely from the bright red steam engine hissing in front of her.

'_This I suppose is the Hogwarts Express_.' She thought to herself as she looked around.

She was on this side of the barrier, just in case, to provide a rear guard, just in case an attack happened.

Night Wolf and UNIT London couldn't do much on this side of the barrier, but if the wand users took a battle outside the field of this…station, then they'd have to do something about it.

Jackie stood at the back of the station watching all the various wand users milling around, watching, waving, more students coming onto the station with their owls, animals, trunks.

It made her a little sick, knowing that many of them would probably shoot her dead if they knew 'what' she was.

That was how a lot of the wand users thought of people like her…

There were many parents of children from the world outside of the wand users, but she watched with an annoyed gaze as she saw many of the wand users give them a sideways glance…some times curious, sometimes intrigued, and then every so often there was that glance, not even of disguised disgust and hatred.

Of course, there was also the fact that she could turn into a wolf at any given moment.

That was why she'd requested to go onto this side of the station as the 'advanced scout'.

She had trained from a very young age, she could almost 'sense' trouble.

Then the whistle blew.

There would be no point in trying to radio Kestrel while she was around so many wand users, and considering she was on a wand user station, their radios wouldn't be able to cut through the background noise of so much uncontrolled wand magic.

However, Kestrel as well as the rest of their team knew when the train departed, and from the intelligence at Night Wolf they all knew roughly when the parents would depart Platform 9 and 3/4.

Gazing around she couldn't…no there was something, turning slightly to her right, in the corner…

The two wand'rs who were tailing Raven were there…probably.

There were at least two figures under occlusion/invisibility cloaks.

Looking back away from the slight shimmering, like a heat wave she watched the carriages pull away from the station, the parents and guardians were shouting farewells to their charges as they disappeared off to the Hogwarts Castle at the so called 'unplottable' location.

Standing back as the parents all seemed to rush for the barrier now that the train had departed she hung back, trying to stay casually back from the two figures under cloaks.

Jackie took a few steps backward and down wind about a meter from the shimmering haze.

Sniffing slightly as she did she confirmed one thing, they were definitely men…who didn't use any sort of deodorant, and most likely hadn't showered in the morning.

She didn't need to be a wolf to know that, anyone with a nose could tell they hadn't been near water in the last 24 hours.

As the crowd started to move, her two cloaked figures decided to move towards the middle of the group.

After a few moments observing, she made her way to leave as well, it was only as she approached the small line that had formed did she pass a small what could be a group, and a man who definitely didn't have any children…he had a odd hook nose which looked like it had been broken and not fixed properly, something very odd…for a wand user.

She'd put a not of it in her report.

Unable to hang around to watch what the odd group was doing, not without alerting the two shimmering people in cloaks…they were beginning to remind her of the Vardans as pictured in the UNIT manuals…except less metallic and shimmery.

Letting go of a breath she didn't know she'd been holding as she walked out of the barrier she looked around, there weren't any screaming people, or dead bodies…or any attack that they would have to explain to the UNIT London as an 'unidentified' terrorist attack, to which they'd give the 'it's aliens' look.

"_Jackal, thought we'd lost you for a second there, anything suspicious?"_

"Nothing…I don't think, just an odd meeting at the end…the guys keeping Raven under surveillance were there…couldn't shake."

She muttered as she pattered her pocket, making sure her stun/kill weapon was still there.

"_Continue surveillance, follow the group out, re-group at primary meeting point."_

"Sir."


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 17**

General Lethbridge Stewart checked his uniform as he walked towards the Prime Minister's offices in Whitehall, sometimes known as 'the bunker', it was literally a bomb shelter which had been reinforced against all surveillance.

It wasn't technically the Prime Minister's office, it was an office…a meeting place for anyone high enough up the chain of command that knew it existed.

As he walked through the lower levels of Whitehall Lethbridge Stewart started to count off the various MI5 officers and surveillance that was being operated along his route.

Either there was a Real IRA threat that he didn't know about, or they were worried…or paranoid…or just doing their job.

Finally reaching the entrance, hidden as it was between the various services that lay beneath Whitehall, and passing the 3 MI5 officers he walked straight in.

The Prime Minister was working behind a desk, he looked…not so much worried…angry, annoyed…

Lethbridge Stewart had heard, seen and visited more than his fair share of Prime Ministers during times of crisis…usually alien invasion…and the like.

The Prime Minister looked up as he entered before nodding to the MI5 agent inside who walked out, closing the door behind him.

The Prime Minister pressed a button and there was a loud thud from the door behind Lethbridge Stewart.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice General."

"Sir." Lethbridge Stewart said neutrally.

"Lethbridge Stewart, you're still part of UNIT…"

"Sir…UNIT does have an office in London…" Lethbridge Stewart pointed our needless. The Prime Minister smiled thinly.

"Yes…but certain sources have informed me that you are the man to go to…in such instances…"

"Sir?"

"Watch…" He picked up a remote and pointed it at a screen on one side of the concrete room. An image of the Prime Minister's office inside Downing Street flicked into life.

"This footage is from my office in Downing Street…I've had surveillance instigated…just in case considering what happened to my predecessor…" He laughed nervously.

From the angle of the camera Lethbridge Stewart could see half the office, including the fireplace, the door and the Prime Minister's desk.

Then the fireplace…which generally wasn't lit, flared with life, even from the black and white footage that the flames were green.

He frowned, then a person came out, his frown deepened. Then it looked as though the figure was waving a wand…something came out and the screen went black.

"I see by your expression that those within Five were right." The Prime Minister said grimly.

"Who was it?" Lethbridge Stewart asked annoyed…angry at the wand users. "Sir." He added.

The Prime Minister sat back in his chair.

"Said his name was Fudge…a minister…of magic!" Lethbridge Stewart watched the Prime Minister watch him for a reaction.

Generally the Prime Minister wasn't aware…as such of Night Wolf's operations, they dealt with the armed forces…not politicians.

The magic side however…anyone that found out on their own…could know…they weren't like the ministry, they wouldn't go around destroying people's memories…

"You knew Lethbridge Stewart?"

"I know of magic…I know to take it as lightly as alien invasions…yeti in the underground…or Martian spaceships landing in Trafalgar Square." Lethbridge Stewart replied, the Prime Minister nodded.

"What sir did Fudge want?"

"Worse type of politician." Lethbridge Stewart held his tongue stopping himself from saying 'I didn't know there was any other kind…'.

"Waved that…."

"A wand." Lethbridge Stewart supplied.

"Yes…said that he'd come as a formality…that his…his ministry would be performing searches and purges to remove someone called 'he-who-must-not-be-named…' you wouldn't know who…"

"His name is Voldemort…he's a leader of…a group of terrorist extremists within the wand user magic world." Lethbridge Stewart supplied calmly.

"He told me about this world…he said I was a mug something…that we wouldn't understand…he was more than a bit rude…like he was…"

"Talking down to you Prime Minister?"

"Yes."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

"I called you Lethbridge Stewart because I want to know what we can do to fight these…wizards and their terrorists…to try and keep England safe…." He trailed off.

Lethbridge Stewart stayed quiet.

"This Fudge also bugged my office…"

"Bugged?"

"A man came through the fire place, he put a painting on the wall…" the Prime Minister gave him a hard stare.

"The painting is off a man…it looks around the room…it's spoken more than once." He said staring at Lethbridge Stewart as though waiting for him to laugh or call him mad.

Alistair did neither of these he simply nodded.

"Five advised me not to speak that part to anyone…although Pearce did seem…sceptical…"

"Yes…" Lethbridge Stewart said slowly, he couldn't tell the Prime Minister everything…not without making him sign some of the amended articles…although he did already know…so he could tell him some things of Night Wolf's operations.

"We are…at UNIT monitoring the situation…I have many teams out assessing and patrolling points of interest." He paused. "We also have a man inside the wand users magic world who is close to several key members." Not to mention being a key member.

"And these terrorists?"

"We are on standby for any attacks…although Prime Minister…you are lucky to have seen their magic…and remember it…"

"Remember?"

"They can…modify people's memories in order to erase their memories of events…"

The Prime Minister slumped into his chair.

"Oh…what about my 'spy' in my office, all attempts to remove the painting have failed…they even tried to remove the plaster…"

"No luck?" The Prime Minister shook his head.

"That I can…assist you with…we have certain technologies at our disposal that can jam the wand users magic…I can arrange to have these placed in Downing Street for you."

"Should I ask Lethbridge Stewart?" The Prime Minister seemed more light hearted upon hearing his answer.

Lethbridge Stewart just smiled.

"They will be delivered within the next day Prime Minister…"

"What of intelligence on these terrorists…would MI5…"

"They know…of Voldemort…"

"Just not of what they are am I correct?"

Lethbridge Stewart inclined his head once more.

"I see." The Prime Minister paused for a moment. "Secrets on-top of secrets General…most of the lower house still refuses to believe that we've ever had an alien visit to Earth…let alone London…do you know how many 'invasions' are on the books?"

Lethbridge Stewart chose not to tell the Prime Minister how many were…and weren't on the books.

They spoke…well the Prime Minister spoke on various other issues, the security of power systems, airports and other primary supply channels that may be disrupted…or destroyed by the wand users.

Lethbridge Stewart had assured that while they couldn't guard every single security risk, they would back up and provide integral support to the armed forces and intelligence agencies.

As General Lethbridge Stewart paused by the door.

"Thank you for attending this meeting Lethbridge Stewart…it will be good to return to my office without that…painting watching over me…your people will be able to remove it?"

Alistair didn't say anything, while they could magic jammers would stop the fire place from acting as a communications and matter transmission device, and would most likely stop the painting from acting as a communication viewer…they hadn't actually tested whether they could remove a painting place with whatever adhesive charm.

"If we can't we'll certainly remove the wall…either way you won't need to worry about it…" Lethbridge Stewart said causally, the Prime Minister stared at him trying to work out whether he was serious or not, he seemed to smile and then laugh uneasily.

"Very good Lethbridge Stewart…I'll inform my security to expect a call from…UNIT."

"Prime Minister." Lethbridge Stewart said as the Prime Minister unlocked the door, he nodded before walking out.

**--/**

When he'd returned to Night Wolf Command Lethbridge Stewart had immediately ordered preparations for 3 heavy duty magical jamming devices to be ready for transportation.

Then he'd grabbed his 2IC, Birmingham and they walked and talked about this newest development.

"It's not unusual for incoming ministers to inform their 'political opposites' as it were Brigadier…"

"Yes…but it's these searches…and it is Fudge, considering what he and his supporters did the last time…" The Brig started.

"Yes…I remember…" They walked in silence for a while.

"Do you think now is the time to test the transmat?" Birmingham said after a long while of silence.

"You already have a target in mind Birmingham?" Lethbridge Stewart asked curiously.

"No…nothing like that Brigadier…while I could think of some targets…we don't have the intelligence to support a strike…nor Geneva's approval for its use in that way."

"Then?"

"A message…sent to Harry, he did indicate that he would keep us informed of his time…and events around him…perhaps a test, right into the heart." Birmingham propositioned.

"Hogwarts?" Lethbridge Stewart asked with a small smile.

"Hogwarts…the layout hasn't changed since…well for some time…the location of the great hall is always they same."

"Can you work up a plan?"

"I can work with the other sorcerers we currently have on duty and on Earth come up with some exact coordinates…even an approximation of where in the great hall the Gryffindor tables are, so we can get the letter as close to Harry."

**--/**

The Brig strode into one of the labs they were using in Night Wolf to transmat the note to Hogwarts.

Around the room were various plans, some which had come from Night Wolf's library, which were complex computer models based off of various drawings and personal experience from people in Night Wolf.

There were other, hand drawn plans some of which appeared to be a large dining area, the 'great hall' Lethbridge Stewart supposed.

He had left Birmingham to organise this project whilst the Brigadier handled various other works.

ASCS Flinders had been launched successfully, and following a shakedown around Research Outpost 5 and 6 would begin transport duties along with ASCS Hattah, RSCS Firefox and RSCS Victory, although he was trying to keep at least one ship in orbit around Earth to provide security.

According to Birmingham's last brief on his project they wouldn't be using a ship to relay the transmat signal…which was typically what was called for in this situation…not that they had done it…ever. But according to the researchers at the Gibson Desert facility, that would be the process were they to transmat or teleport something or someone from a location on Earth to another location on Earth.

"How's it going Birmingham?" Lethbridge Stewart asked as he walked in.

"We're just about ready Brigadier…I've had a dish set up on the hill overlooking us, it's pointing near enough to Hogwarts."

"And this will…get around the necessity for a relay that Professor Vleugal spoke of?"

"Yes, considering we're only sending a letter rather than something bigger, all the power can be put into getting it into the castle…because we're not sure we're hooking up more than enough power to the systems…" Birmingham said calmly, though he did seem slightly concerned.

"There's no chance of Dumbledore or anyone else tracking the signal?"

"Not unless they know something about the _various_ systems our transmat systems are based on."

It was true that as with most of the technologies implemented the transmat system had come from a variety of sources, refined and backwards engineered until they had a working model, that was now, along with the teleport incorporated in all vessels and bases in Night Wolf.

"Just checking Birmingham, wouldn't want to give Scott, Palmer and Renwick a reason to break out the big guns and start blasting out walls." He chuckled looking around him.

The lab was divided between the planning and obviously meeting area, then a control desk/bank of computers and equipment, then separated from the rest of the room was the transmat pad.

Cables lead off it and off all the equipment out of the castle and out most likely to the dish that Birmingham had set up.

"Got the letter Brigadier?" Birmingham asked as they walked towards the pad where some personnel were performing final checks.

"Yes…" He handed it to Birmingham, he checked it over and was greeted by a raised eyebrow.

"Worried I can't write a letter."

"Just in case…it end up…" Birmingham started.

"Just in case?" Lethbridge Stewart asked slightly in humour.

"There is a slight…probability that our coordinates may be…off. Or that the transmat signal may be deflected by the barriers in place at the target…sir." One of the technicians that was checking the connections around the pad, who had been listening to them added.

The Brig nodded, eyeing the letter.

"Owl?" Birmingham asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought the transmat was full proof Brigadier?"

"In Harry's current situation it would be far too conspicuous…Dumbledore may be one of the worst but that doesn't make him stupid...not entirely Birmingham. I've ordered one of the spires be cleared out, and some food place to direct Harry's owls there so we can retrieve the letters."

Birmingham just nodded.

"Are we ready?" He called back.

"Yes sir…" Birmingham nodded and placed the letter in the centre of the pad.

Lethbridge Stewart followed Birmingham back to the control area as a door was slid shut between them.

Birmingham reached for a phone. "This is Sorcerer Birmingham, prepare for stage 3 power down and transfer."

"Just how much power are you using Birmingham?"

He looked a little sheepish at the Brigadier.

"Enough…given this system is slightly different to our the systems between ship and base, or within the bases…and we are some distance from Hogwarts…"

"We have all full power Sorcerer." One of the technicians sitting at the controls stated.

"Good, co-ordinates locked in?"

"Sir."

"Alright lets go."

"Co-ordinates locked in…sending transmat test signal…" There was a thrum of power as a signal was sent between Night Wolf and the transmission dish, testing it for the actual transmission. "We have a clear path, beginning transmat…" The thrum of power increased in pitch as the letter disappeared, as it was disappeared there were some sparks, and a crackling of ozone as it did so.

"Package on route…and arrive at target…now…" The technician stated as the whine of power and technology ground down to its steady hum before the test.

"This is Sorcery Birmingham, resume normal power usage, experiment over. Repeat resume power usage."

"What were the sparks in aid of?"

"Drama?" Birmingham asked curiously and then looked at the Brigadier and frowned slightly.

"We'll have to analyse that…and wait for Harry's response."

**--/**

Lt Nisbet walked through the corridors of Night Wolf Command toward the rear east turret of the castle.

Technically he should be on sick leave…during a mission scouting out some wand user's houses that were being used as a meeting place for Death Eaters they'd come under fire, he'd taken a stunner at full power to the leg and what doctor Baker a 'lucky shot' of a not too powerful slashing curse to the upper left shoulder. Just deep enough for him to bleed out and black out, but not deep enough to have any long lasting effects, other than a very large scar and about 2 months off any heavy duty…

He'd been put on sick leave…but at home he felt no better…it reminded him too much…

A few years ago he'd been in University studying landscape gardening…when he'd witnessed something, it wasn't until Night Wolf that he'd remembered what that something was.

He had been at Uni during the first week before classes started showing people around, he'd been there for two years and he knew the campus pretty well.

Then _they _had come.

Wand users, a bunch of them, running around, firing spells at one another…and at students…he knew they weren't killing anyone, but he still tried to move the younger students he was showing around away…

He'd lived with his great aunt Whilema for the last 8 years since he was 12 after his parents died in a mining disaster.

She'd tell him stories…and then show him a few tricks.

She was a 'witch'…she'd shown him books and everything…it wasn't till he was studying world war II and the Third Reich in 5th form history that he really understood what had happened to her.

She had said that they'd called her a 'mudblood', and that people with no magic were 'muggles', as soon as she'd finished school she'd left that world behind her.

But she always told him what to do if he ever got near a wizard, there wasn't any way to fight…they could open their mouth and with two simple words you'd be dead on the ground.

He'd never really wondered why he'd left university after…a 'prank' and joined the Royal Marines…

His great aunt had thought it odd…but then she had done some odd things in her time.

It wasn't until he'd decided to join UNIT…and been accepted into Night Wolf that…something in his mind tricked over a memory…and he'd screamed and felt like his brain had exploded.

Then Sorcerer Birmingham, and a few others had helped and explained and he'd been given the choice to return to university, finish his degree…

But he wanted to stay…to fight to stop the…wand users from doing what they did to him…ruining his life like that…

All he knew was that they had worked for 'The Ministry of Magic'.

He went home sometimes, his aunt still lived in a large manor house too big for her, but he had liked to go home when he was at university, and even when he'd been in the marines.

But now…now that he knew what had happened…he knew why she had left that world…

It hurt him to think that one of those…one of those had been the same people that drove his aunt out…and said…and done…

When he told her…she'd broken down apologising for it, as though it was her fault, she'd been angry and sorry in equal amounts…now when he went home…she still had a look in her eye, of sorrow…and that glint of anger at what they'd done to him.

He didn't like to see that in her.

Trudging up the stairs he waited, a bag of mixed seed and fruit in his hand.

He had been coming up here for the last day or two since Sorcerer Birmingham had sent his message through to the barriers to Hogwarts to Harry Potter.

He'd only met Harry in passing, he was pretty laid back, considering he had enough weight on his shoulders to break the proverbial donkey's back.

Sitting down on the stone step he stared out the window…basically his orders were to A: Take it easy, since he didn't want to/refused to go home and B: For the next couple of days go and wait up in the recently opened up rear east turret and wait…for a snowy white owl.

He'd been a little surprised, considering Night Wolf didn't subscribe to any wand user print media, and no one would have an owl deliver anything anyway…but he'd also connected the owl quite quickly to Harry Potter.

So sitting against the cool stone wall he sat and waited, pulling a 'book' from his pocket; it was a 'collection' of poetry some of the scientists had deciphered from various bits and pieces of Dalek technology which the xeno-biologists and xeno-linguists had stated _must _have come from an early period of Dalek history.

He'd started reading the 128 stanza long poem entitled 'Lament of the Non-Operational', a rather odd and fruity piece of Dalek poetry.

They had…some character…considering some of the sweeping generalisations that had been made by a certain scientific advisor during the 70s…and 80s…and when ever he was around.

Not, he thought to himself, not that he was sympathising with the Daleks…but they did have some cool tech that Night Wolf had used and reverse engineered…and literature was almost as valuable (the linguists would say just as valuable) as technology.

He was on the 38th stanza, and it wasn't nearly as dry as some _Earth _based poetry he'd read in the past.

**--/**

_Just to establish a timeline for this:_

_The Prime Minister featured here is the prime minister who ends up dead in the cupboard in Doctor Who 2005 episode 'Aliens of London'._

_To put this in further perspective this Prime Minister immediately followed Lord Greyhaven, following the events of The Dying Days Virgin NA (the events of which I occasionally mention as 'The Martian Invasion')._

_Not totally necessary information, but I thought it would add some context._

'_Lament of the Non-Operational' is yet another of my obscure references (which was mentioned a sum total of once in NA book Original Sin)._

_Thanks for reading_


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 18 – Jumping through rings of fire, you might get burned**

RSCS Firefox's antigravs whined as they pushed the ship off the landing zone next to Research Outpost 3, pushing the sizeable ship through the clouds and out into orbit around the planet that Outpost 3 resided on.

Like all the planets which had Research Outposts on them, it didn't have a name, that honour would be left to…someone…according to UNIT and Geneva.

More likely they weren't sure what to name the planets, considering the general rule was to name planets, asteroids and whatever after people who discovered them…which in this case were various alien races who had crashed, attempted to invade, attempted assassination and whatever else…and they weren't exactly people who anyone wanted planets names after them.

"We stable Jude?" Captain Timms asked of his helmsman.

"Yes sir, I had to cycle the antigravs, the new systems have added a bit instability to our systems." She replied.

The new systems were the reason that Firefox had travelled the distance to Outpost 3.

While Outpost 3 was only the third permanently settled Research Outpost, it was the furtherest away from Earth.

It was also the only planet that they had found that had noticeable amounts of the element required to build the jump gate and jump engine systems.

However unlike the planets it did have a name…sort of.

The only spelling that Night Wolf's linguistics and xeno-archaeologists could find was extremely difficult to translate, owing mainly that they didn't have enough original text to work from.

All translations created an un-pronounceable word, however colloquially it was known as Q40, as it supposedly began with a Q and that it had more than 40 syllables…or quite possibly pieces punctuation.

Anyway, Research Outpost 3 was built as a site of research for both the jump gates and jump engines, and as a mining centre to mine and refine the Q40 element.

Night Wolf Command and Geneva felt that it was safe, considering how the jump gates worked and the some what experimental nature of their work that it was better to have them stationed off of Earth and closer to the naturally occurring element.

While they had access to an amount of the Q40 element it wasn't overly abundant, and had taken some time to locate a reasonable amount.

Over time they had perfected their designs, and had experimented, and refined their designs that could offer a replacement to the ASCS/RSCS interstellar engines and power problems.

"Nikita how's the jump engine going?" Captain Timms asked turning in his chair to face his Secondary Systems Officer behind him.

"Everything stayed plugged in and operational through our ascent, we can bring it online at any time sir."

"Send a message to Outpost 3, we're beginning systems test…and if we blow up it's their fault." He said with a smile to his comms officer to his right.

"I'll tell them that sir. I'm sure they'll be more worried about the engine than us."

Timms chuckled.

Firefox was the longest operating ship, the first ship from Night Wolf.

It was also the reason that it had been chosen for this test, not because it was the most expendable, the reverse in fact.

Firefox was much more a hybrid that any of the other vessels, with literally half a Dalek saucer built as part of its frame as a result it was much easier to add and adapt its structure and control systems to new and alternative technologies.

While the newer ASCS Flinders (and RSCS Victory to some extent) had been constructed with the possibly of adding a jump engine later when the element became more readily prevalent, it was for now limited to building two jump gates in the near future, considering the low amounts of Q40 they had access to.

Though for now they wanted to verify their 'on the ground' tests inside a ship, with real people using the equipment, rather than scientists.

Firefox did have a bunch of jump engine experts on board monitoring its output.

They wouldn't be entering into hyperspace today, rather simply going up to the edge of this system and opening a jump point to do some tests and perform scans.

"Move us out of orbit towards the outer edge of the system."

"Sir."

Firefox's 3 powerful engines hummed with life as they propelled the large ship away from the planet it was in orbit around towards what was considered the outside edge of the solar system that they were currently in.

RSCS Firefox sat in space, the planet that they had left some time ago, where Outpost 3 resided was barely a pin prick from where the ship currently sat.

"Are we ready yet Nikita?" The captain asked with a sigh, he had asked the same question 3 hours ago, and every half an hour since he'd been assured that they would be ready after the first assurance of 'it'll only be 15 minutes.'

"Umm…" Nikita started as he checked though the figures and reports again from the various section, and more importantly the power and engine room.

"Umm?" Captain Timms asked, they were here to do this, and while they were sitting in this area of space, not near…anything there wasn't much else to do but sit and wait to begin the testing of their new jump engine.

"They're just double checking the linkages at the front of the ship captain…10 minutes." Nkita Robertson replied slightly hopeful and guiltily, the Captain turned around to look at him.

"10 minutes...is this the same sort of 10 minutes that was 3 hours ago Nikita? You know I wouldn't mind…if the test area was somewhere less…black…a comet…an interesting asteroid that the sensor analysis people could scan and detail for me…" He trailed off.

"Yes sir…" Nikita mumbled as his screen in front of him announced that they had completed the adjustments.

"Sir! We're ready to test the engines!"

"Finally." He muttered. "Right, bring jump engines online, prepare to launch the proving device, ready all scanners…"

"Umm captain…" Nkita started he could tell the captain was about to stare at him again.

"Jump engines ready to come online captain." Jude announced.

"Bring them online, prepare jump sequence." The captain announced.

"Jump engines coming online…" Nikia announced and let out a slight breath as nothing happened. Supposedly there was a slight chance that just bringing the jump engine online would suck all of the power from the ship…

"Prepare to launch proving device, ready jump engine sequence."

"Ready sir."

"Activate jump engines." As they were activated most of the primary lights cut out, the gravity field around the ship diminished to almost nothing and many of the secondary and primary systems winked off.

Then in front of the ship a huge vortex opened up, the scanners that were still powered and the screens that had stayed powered on the bridge showed the vast vortex. It was almost 5 times as big as the ship, it was a dull oranage and was swirling towards a point that seemed to impose depth on the space it was in.

"Captain…" Nikita started a little worried considering the reports that were coming in.

"Launch proving device before it collapses." The captain said quickly as he stared at the vortex.

A small probe like device shot out from the ship, the captain, all the sensor analysis and any one else watching the vortex watched the small in fact tiny in comparison to the jump vortex fly into the 'middle' and disappear.

"Disengage jump engines." The captain said after a moment.

There was a long whine around the ship as power returned from the jump engines and all the systems around the ship returned to normal.

"Mr Robertson…what just…"

"Analysis is just beginning sir…the device should reach Outpost 3 within a few minutes."

The captain raised an eyebrow, considering the device wasn't exactly fast, its passage through hyperspace was amazingly swift.

"Captain?" Jude asked after a moment.

"Jude?" Timms asked looking away from his own screens which were scrolling through various pertinent information…

"While the jump engines were activated there was a…pull towards it, like a slight gravity field."

"How strong?"

"Not enough to pull us into the vortex…" She hit a button on her console, 'pushing' the reading from her console to the captain's.

The captain stared for a moment at the gravity field analysis against the power readings, the engines had stayed online during the initial test, but even if they had been totally without power…the gravity field probably wouldn't have been enough the drag them in.

"Jude, send your readings down to sensor analysis, I want to know everything about the jump vortex…before we even think about doing _that _again. Nikita…"

"Yes sir, same for me. Results down to speciality analysis, as well as everything else…sir." He muttered, the captain smiled to himself.

2 Hours later the captain was in the meeting room, a discussion room much like most of the labs on Firefox, except instead of work benches and whatever other technology it simply held a long table able to sit the heads of the analysis teams, the security squad and anyone else who needed representing at any given points during a mission. It also had screens lining most of the walls.

At this moment it currently held the captain, two of the scientists who had come along for the jump engine test, a representative for sensor analysis and someone for the engine and power room.

There were several graphics and raw data playing over the screens highlighting different aspects of the test.

The captain massaged his temples after listening to what was supposed to be an explanation, what it turned out to really be was something else.

He looked around the room after the scientists had finished explaining what had happened, he wished that his own people had explained it too him.

These people weren't usually on board ships, not like the men and women from the various departments on board his ship.

"So…let me just run it by you…to see if I got it right?" The captain said slowly holding up his hand to stop the jump engine specialists from launching into another tirade of information.

"Basically…we had too much power going into the jump engine, which in turn made a larger than we needed jump point? Correct?" He asked them.

The jump engine specialists started before the sensor analysis officer looked at the captain's eyes.

"Yes captain that's right." He said interrupting.

"So we can try for the second and third test, without draining 98 percent of the ship's power?"

"Yes captain."

"Good…how long…if I might ask?" He asked the jump engine specialists.

"An hour…"

"Is that an actual hour or the hours that we've been working with today?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

3 Hours later…the captain could swear he could feel the ship getting warmer, maybe it was the jump engine components at the front of the ship…maybe they were getting warmer.

But they weren't in fact he'd sent two sets of people to check both the bow and stern for any heat fluctuations, none.

In fact they had complete two more successful tests of the jump engines, and now were settling back, like Research Outpost 3 probably was analysing their data.

They would probably be heading back to Outpost 3 soon, once the scientists had made sure they'd conducted all their tests, they did have two more test devices ready should they want to…

Nikita leaned back into his chair and scrolled through the next series of reports that had been shunted his way, all reports both the summaries and the full reports were channelled toward the SSC officer, not that he was expected to read everything, but some of it was useful in his duties.

Battle Analysis had been scanning their region of space developing a battle space…just in case, but then that was what they were there for…

"Prox-imity Al-ert! Prox-imity Alert!" Nikita unconsciously flinched, no matter how long he'd been on Firefox _that _voice still annoyed him.

_That _voice was of the Dalek battle computer, most of which had been removed, however some of it had been integral to the part of the Dalek saucer which was part of Firefox, the particular part was part of the sensor arrays linked to the interceptors, which had a vastly better accuracy than anything else. Also left in there were the 'slightly paranoid' proximity detectors, which were also a part of the saucer's original design and something that the Northern Highlands facility had decided to leave in when they had re-fitted the ship after its first flight.

They did sometimes detect an asteroid as a 'proximity alert'.

Nikita hit a button silencing the grating tones of the Dalek modulated warning and ran an eye over the scans coming in.

The alert had originated on the ultra-long range sensors, which were more or less a fuzz on the sensor scopes.

The shape however bore a 35 percent match to a ship which had been sighted by RSCS Victory and had engaged ASCS Hattah during a supply run to Outpost 2.

"Oh crap…" He muttered hitting the image down to battle and sensor analysis, the latter who were obviously too busy studying the effects of their new drive on the gravity on board the ship.

"Captain…" He started as he hit a series of buttons the three screens at the front of the bridge were replaced by incoming scans and the original scan, the middle screen swapped from a reviewing of the latest trial to a forward view.

The captain only looked at the images briefly before hitting a button in front of him.

"Battle Alert, Battle Alert." A Voice, not Dalek sounding went out around the ship, the tertiary lights flicked blue for 5 minutes signalling a battle alert situation.

"What's it doing?"

"Too far captain, we only noticed it because of the Dalek sensor array."

"Gotta love the pepper pots don't you Nikita?"

"Sir…battle analysis suggests moving in for a closer look and to launch Thylacines…"

The captain thought for a moment, the unknowns were obviously there watching and had probably seen them testing their new drive…

"No, turn us around Jude back towards Outpost 3, launch Thylacines order them medium range defensive positions, they have permission to fire at will on any approaching vessel." The captain said quickly giving orders to his helmswoman, communications and SSC.

RSCS Firefox turned and moved much more gracefully than it really should and fired its three powerful engines moving it swiftly back towards the planet.

As soon as it had finished turning three compartments opened near the bow of the ship disgorging 6 Thylacines from its belly, flying easily out of the moving vessel they took up defensive positions in groups of 2 along the port and starboard sides of the ship.

This manoeuvre had not gone unnoticed.

The ship that had been watching the unknown ship that had markings similar to vessels previously encountered by their acquisition parties scanned it one more time before signalling the fleet.

The ship's commander had been studying with the rest of its crew this ship and the others like it for what some might call 2 years.

They had been watching these new ships and the technology they wielded, had seen them develop it.

This new…vortex generation device was something they could use…and something they would take, there was only one vessel and several smaller vessels.

The ship's commander moved in the comparatively light gravity compared to many of its conquered vessels and gripped it's 'chair' with its multiple limbs.

Had anyone been able to understand its warbling pulsing language it would have been translated as 'Begin attack!'.

"Prox-imity Al-ert! Prox-imity Al-ert! Prox-imity Al-ert!" Nikita cringed again cancelling the announcement, however this time he wasn't cringing because of the voice.

"Nikita I thought you cancelled the…" Nikita was busy staring at the scans that were coming in, they were already being tagged by weapons analysis, a division of battle strategy and analysis.

The screens at the front of the bridge flashed signalling new…and more worrying information.

The thylacine squad outside the ship was…at least mildly worried.

The one ship that had been on ultra long range had moved coming up behind them at a very quick speed.

There were also 5 vessels approaching on all except forward vectors, the were surrounding the ship and while there technically wasn't any level in space, they were relative to the ship's position approaching; above, below, from the starboard and port with the original ship they had seen taking up the rear flank.

It left the thylacine squad and RSCS Firefox one direction to go, to conitue toward the planet where it's gravity would play part in the fight…and the squad leader knew that while he hadn't had any 'good' contacts in space, this certainly wasn't going to be it.

"How many Lt Robertson?" The captain asked quickly.

"4 new ships, 5 including the one we had on scan…"

"Send an encrypted message the Outpost 3, attack on base likely." The captain ordered his communications officer.

"Interceptors?"

"Ready…" Nikita read off.

"Open blaster ports."

"Opening…" He replied.

The blaster ports were two barrels at the from of the ship and were in effect the same technology as Night Wolf's stun/kill guns…albeit on a larger deadlier scale.

A magically force grown crystal with a series of focusing lens would blast out various 'curses', on Firefox they had a choice of a blasting or cutting curse that they could fire.

"Blasters ready to fire."

"How long?"

"5 minutes till they're in probably optimum firing range…" Nikita said his eyes going over the various bits of information, there were already several vessels scanned with tags guessing what weapons they had.

"Ready all weapons." The captain said to the weapons office to his left.

"Blasters are ready to fire, all interceptors have a full scanning range, all cannons are ready to fire."

The cannons were more a directional beam of hot destruction a cross between a Dalek gun and a plasma bolt the cannons were placed on equal placing along the starboard and port side of the ship, while the interceptor placements were on the top and bottom of the ship.

With 6 cannons and 4 interceptors ASCS Firefox's original designers and outfitters had hopped this would be enough to ensure its safety.

Outside the ship the thylacines adjusted their speed and angle of attack as Firefox slowed and altered its trajectory shifting away from Outpost 3.

"…_Squad Leader, prepare for attack, open fire when in weapons range…_"

"Roger Firefox. Alright squad you heard them. We're going for tag team attacks, two to a ship, if they've got fighters we'll be taking em on, leave the big things to Firefox."

He glanced at the heads up it flashed full of 5 confirmation signals.

The small fighter craft adjusted their angle away from Firefox further.

Behind them the interceptors twitched, their 'eyes' watching for the enemy which was approaching at a constant fast pace.

"Ships in range…"

"Interceptors?" The captain barked.

"Locking onto ships…ships firing…."

Around the ship the interceptors whirred as they spewed out energy at the incoming weapons fire.

Inside the ship there was only a soft dull thudding as the interceptors fired.

"Fire all weapons."

"Cannons firing, blasters taking aim and firing…" Forbes said as his hand flew over his controls, ordering or in some cases activating the weapons systems.

At the front of Firefox two gun ports were open and a moment later two beams of bright orange barrelled out towards a one of the ships which had come around to face the ship. The orange light moved through space faster than any ship could hope to, even if space hadn't been noiseless this weapon was.

It hit the bulky triangular ship blasting one large hole through the middle and blowing away half of its side.

"Battle space up captain." Nikita stated.

The screen to the left of the bridge flickered as they took a hit to some part of the ship.

The battle space displayed their forces…and the enemies.

"Is that…"

"Affirmative…we're just separating out the sensor fields." Nikita double checked the information.

"Each ship had what looks like 10 fighters…"

"So that's…50…"

"40…the ship just destroyed…" Nikita frowned there was a rather large flashing warning coming at them the starboard side, the cannons were busy tackling the fighters..

"Missile Alert…brace for impa…." He shouted grabbing at his console…

The missle exploded as the emergency force-fields activated around the starboard side of the ship, the explosive force vibrated throughout the ship.

Generally they didn't use the force-fields, simply because of the extreme amount of power they used should they need to wrap a forcefield around the ship.

"Damage?"

"Negligible…but we've lost power centre starboard cannon…strategy is…" Nikita muttered to himself…

"Stretch back the gravity field."

"Aye…" He said grabbing at the straps behind him pulling them tight as the warning went out to the rest of the ship.

Maintaining gravity was one thing that they could do away with, during battle.

The inertia absorbing charms, mass and weight lighting charms would stop them being squished to an infinity when ship manoeuvred but it didn't rid them of all the g-forces involved.

Had anyone been able to see the gravity field it would have slowly warped back towards the rear of the ship, maintaining some gravity to the various departments scanning and planning the battle.

The bridge around 3/4 of the way up the ship, plus another quarter behind it slowly lost gravity.

Around the ship the small fighter craft continued to explode under fire of Firefox's weapons.

The cannon that was rendered useless suddenly returned to life spewing deadly fire at the fighters and around the thylacines and the main ship.

"Get us moving Jude…between those two ships…"

"Strategy suggest they're some sort of HQ…linguistics is getting a lot of heavy info traffic from them…"

"Anything we can understand? Negotiate?"

"They're trying, all of em since the other attacks…nothing intelligible."

"Prox-imity Alert…" The Dalek voice announced over everything else on the bridge.

Usually it didn't during a battle…but there was a ship on approach…flanked by 8 fighters…

The captain whacked his communications link.

"Thylacines 4 & 6 attack incoming craft 34 by 27 relative!"

The thylacines in question spun around from their fighting coming almost 'face' to face with their counter parts, blasting the fighters slowly out of the way, unfortunately they didn't stop the triangular shaped 'pod'.

Nikita almost groaned as the ship again vibrated, and then the flashing red symbol highlighted over a section of the ship made him hit the security squad comms button just a little too hard.

"Breach, we have a breach….Squad to level three outer section…boarding party!"

_Missiles on approach…_

That's what the screen read…the vision was a lot less appealing.

10 missiles fired from the two ships they were moving towards.

"Jude prepare for high velocity rise corkscrew…"

She nodded not turning instead looking at her own battle space and sensor read outs of the ship.

"Captain at this angle and this speed…interceptors won't be able to lock onto in coming targets…"

"Force-field…"

"Not unless it's something very worrying captain…security squad is approaching breach…" He paused for a moment. "Reading 10 life forms in compartment."

"Missiles 2 minutes and closing." Jude announced.

"Initiate manoeuvre."

Firefox grappled at whatever power it had available, channelling some of it to the antigravs pushing the up and had there been ground below them they would be going 'up, vertically.

Firefox continued up…with the missiles following.

"Missiles still following…thylacines 2, 3 and 4 are following taking down following missiles."

"Ready…" Jude muttered to herself as the ship spun around and applied full power thrusting it toward the apposing two ships.

"Fire blasters, continuous fire…"

"Enemy weapons fire close in fire…thylacines taking down fighters…more missiles on approach."

"Time to main ships."

"At this speed 4 minutes.

"Interceptors at 80 percent…"

"Blasters…why have we blown the ships out of the way?"

The battle space and the forward vision clearly showed they were still there.

"Fighters are flying into blaster beam…it's decreasing the efficiency of them…"

"Damn it…slow out approach Jude, continue firing, direct forward cannons to the ships, I want them out of the battle space."

"Yes sir." Forbes answered quickly.

"Captain…without the cannons, it's going to put further strain on the interceptors…"

"I know Lt. Hull integrity…"

"All charms in place…Security squad reports they have the breach under control…Xeno-biology wants a look at the bodies…Linguistics also wants up there…"

"Negative, get the squad out, seal the level against a breach. They can have their fun later." Nikita nodded despite the fact the captain was looking forward.

Nikita's screens flashed red again, this time it wasn't any additional weapons fire…there were already dull thuds around the ship as weapons fire got through the interceptors.

"Captain…many of the fighters are turning away from the thylacines towards us…on our current trajectory we can't manoeuvre around them."

"How many shots till we get the ships?"

"Many captain…even with additional weapons…"

"How many ships Nikita?"

"Ummm…3 thylacine squad leader and 6 have disabled one…there's the two in front of us and one 80 degrees port…"

"Get all thylacines to attack that one." The captain stated to the comms officer. "Continue attack…we'll worry about the fighters when they attack."

"Captain they're not…they're going for a kamikaze run!"  
"Shit…Force-field…"

"Not enough power…unless we stop firing…strategy suggests that's what they're trying to make us do…" Nikita hit a button zooming in on the two ships they were practically drifting towards. It showed 6 more breaching pods.

"Then we won't do that…Continue firing…seal all bulkheads…"

The enemy fighters gained quick ground, the interceptors barely stopping them, they had been designed to stop enemy fire _not _the enemy itself…

The two ships that Firefox was baring down on were using their agility to dance around it's continuous weapons fire, ejecting whatever matter they had to take the hits of the blasters giving the effect of hits from the increasing weapons fire from the ship that continued to gain ground as they backed away from the looming ship.

"1 minute to enemy ship collision…."

"All hands brace all decks close in collision, sealant teams on stand by…"

Nikita could only stare at the sensors which were scanning the ships for weapons fire.

The one to their port was being attacked in a tag team fly by attack from the squad of thylacines, their complicated and dangerous dance around that ship's weapons was worrying…considering that the ships they were attacking were firing at about 50 percent less than the one firing on the thylacines…

"30 seconds to impact."

Nikita stared at the scanners and then quickly punched in a series of angels, plotting their position relative to the kamikaze ships and the two they were attacking.

"Jude! Increase speed and roll us over!" He almost shouted as he stared at the scanners, 15 seconds to impact.

She didn't even question the data which streamed on to her console, neither did the captain.

Everyone on the bridge, and everyone who was in a section of the ship without normal gravity hung onto their stomaches as the ship doubled it's current speed accelerating towards the two waiting ships while simultaneously it engaged its anti-grav engines and the remaining engines of the Dalek saucer, usually used for precise manoeuvring and flight through an atmosphere, they whined in the vacuum of space against damage and various cracks on the ship's superstructure as the ship rolled, it's remaining cannons taking aim and destroying the fighters while all the while the blasters at the front of the ship continues to spew hot death.

While the view of the ship outside the ship may have been graceful inside was a different matter.

The charms holding back the worst of the inertia were still intact…more or less, but without the softening effect of the gravity field the crew were subjected to much of the g-forces and effects of rolling a 320 meter long space craft moving at a speed that some of the designers would have advised them from doing.

There was also the fact that during the manoeuvre there were two missiles lodged in starboard side, just out of view of the interceptor scanners and thus far unnoticed by the sensor, battle and weapons analysis departments.

"I think we're alright…" Nikita said as they levelled, there was still a loud impacting noise from weapons fire impacting with the hull.

"Weapons status?" The captain said swallowing whatever he had in his mouth from that manoeuvre.

"Blasters are overheating, they're being fired constantly…"

"How long till we destroy the…."

It was at this point that the two missiles exploded, blowing a sizeable hole in the side of the ship.

"Breach Alert, Breach Alert." The not very helpful computer voice that someone in the Northern Highlands facility thought would help during a battle situation to alert the crew that a hole had just breached the ship.

That person who had thought of this useful addition would be the focus of more than one captain's wrath.

The explosion did not help Jude who was still working to manoeuvre the ship back onto a steady axis, the explosion did nothing to help this, instead unbalancing it, throwing the ship more out of alignment…it also increased the gravitational effects on the ship.

"What the fuck was that?" The captain swore many more expletives as the ship and many more warning alerts at its crew.

Nikita was trying to ignore the various warnings and alerts and instead trying to make sense of the various reports which were still coming in, despite the hole in the ship, which was comparatively small to the explosion.

"Cargo hold on the starboard side…taken out…lost all pressure…there are cracks along the hull…might turn into breach…"

Nikta continue to rattle off to the captain as the straps of his harness continued to dig in holding him to his chair as the ship rocketed around.

This movement was not helping the weaponry officer nor the people maintaining the blasters.

Being at the front of the ship they had almost no gravity, tethered to the ground with various sticking charms and harnesses they made minute adjustments, the sorcerers among them, casting cooling and heat deflection charms, waving various elemtns over the crystals which continue to glow dispelling attacks out into space.

And it was space, the explosion so jarring the ship was only just maintaining interceptor efficiency, the cannons hitting anything that came near, the blasters, which the weapons team were trying to aim were pointing in the direction the ship was; just off target of the ship.

The Thylacine squad leader watched satisfied as the ship his squad had been attacking for the past 10 minutes exploded.

"_Sir, Firefox!"_ One of his team said worriedly.

His scanners were still flaring from whatever weapon had attempted to hit them in the last volley.

He spun his thylacine over to see and immediately sent the form up order.

The 6 thylacines flew steadily and fast towards their labouring ship, he could see from even this distance that it had several minor breaches, and the targeting was off on the blasters and while it continued to fire the ships its was aiming for moved slowly away.

"Form up X attack."

"_What about Firefox sir?"_

"She's still flying, we're taking out those ship…"

The half dozen thylacines flew past forming quickly into an X pattern, as they approached minimum effective range they started opening fire.

Twin bolts of energy leapt from each thylacine speeding towards the two remaining ships.

As the first of the energy fire began to impact the least damaged ship turned on it's axis firing something to the other.

Then a moment later it glowed red and disappeared.

"Battle space clear captain…no remaining vessels attacking." Nikita stated as he grabbed at the straps of his harness pulling tighter in an attempt to get some equilibrium.

"Power down blasters, keep the interceptors ready, cannons also…I don't want to be caught out…Jude…?"

"Nearly there captain…the explosion really hit us…"

An hour later Firefox sat in space, _not _spinning on its axis.

The thylacine squad was doing scans of the surrounding area marking out items to transmat for further study…once the transmat was repaired.

Five hours later.

No one had died.

That was good news.

Despite the hull breaches, the cracks along the composite hull, the internal bulkheads had stayed shut reinforcing the superstructure, preventing any wide-scale breaches.

Captain Ian Timms left the meeting room behind the bridge, allowing Lt Robertson to organise the patch up repairs to enable them to for starters; transmat all the debris from their battle into the cargo hold for UNIT officers to study and pick apart, they'd need to firstly fix the transmat, and then the teleporter to allow the jump engine scientists to return to Outpost 3…then there was everything else.

The engines were relatively untouched…the power systems had gotten close to all hitting maximum…it would be one of the many things he would be addressing in his report to Night Wolf.

The smell hit him, it was the first thing he noticed as he walked into one of the smaller meeting rooms, more of a multipurpose lab than a dedicated meeting room.

The smell was coming from the xeno-biologist's medical jacket, they had obviously come straight from their autopsy.

"Captain." One of them exclaimed excitedly as he came in.

On one side of the room were the xeno-biologists, on the other, obviously trying to stay as far away from them and the smell were the linguists (and diplomats).

"So…what can you tell me about them?" He said stretching, he was glad to be in a part of the ship that _had _gravity.

The bridge was still operating under zero gravity while the power systems and drive systems were assessed, they wouldn't have an extended gravity field.

Even here it was less than the moon, but at least you stuck to the ground…more or less.

The screens in front and to the side of him flicked, one showing the first autopsy, the second some uniforms and weapons.

"We should be thankful captain for the…" She paused. "The single mindedness of the military mind." She smiled slyly, she was a linguistic that had worked within UNIT as a deciphering technician working with various pieces of unidentifiable alien tech.

The captain closed his eyes, she enjoyed a good discussion in the mess over various topics, however right now he had a headache…from several different sources.

"Sarah." He fixed her and her colleges with a stare, she took a breath and the captain despite enjoying being in a gravity environment looked around for a chair.

"The single mindedness of the military mind is useful…because we can look for similar symbols and recognition signs that are use on Earth." She clicked a button and a cleared up zoomed in image of a round…thing, he frowned, and then cursed himself, she'd noticed.

"It's a weapon…I think…under it…" The picture zoomed in on a series of symbols.

"We've isolated a set of symbols that appears on their uniform, their weaponry and several other pieces of unidentifiable technology…" She hit the button again and the symbols, a set of 8 symbols in different colours and from different sources appeared on the screen.

"These as far as we can tell point to a star system…we think that the other symbols dicatate some sort of possession something like 'military force of…' or 'leader of', or 'space command of…' or 'made in/on'…that sort of thing."

"So, what are they?"

"That would be our field." One of the pungent biologist said proudly, Captain Ian Timms was trying to work out what the smell was…it was like…rotting sea weed or…something…

Another set of images flashed up, the one the looked the most intact seemed to be a head, around the size of a human skull…with limbs coming off around it.

The captain shook his head.

"They all had various back packs on, analysis indicates that they're probably not used to our gravity, the limbs may have been added, or they were genetically altered…" Another set of images, the limbs on the…aliens differed around them.

"So what are they Sarah?"

"Well…it's a bit of an approximation…but we think they would call themselves…from our perspective at least Arcturans."

--//

_Another long chapter._

_I'm getting better at writing 'space' but I still feel it's a little too long._

_I'll be returning to Earth next chapter, with more magic and other stuff._

_If no one is getting my reference, the Arcturans appeared in a Doctor Who story called Curse of Peladon (wikipedia it if curious, it's on there)._

_They only appeared once…so I'm being creative as far as the ships go…_

_I hope everyone can work out what's happening in this chapter (I had to draw more than one diagram for myself just to write this)._

_Any future chapters that involve space travel I will perhaps vary my perspectives a little more (or have more than one ASCS/RSCS ship in play._

_Thanks for reading, please review, I try to respond everyone._


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 19**

"So how does this affect us?" Lethbridge Stewart looked around the room, they had just 'watched' over a compilation of the trial of several ministry officials including Cornelius Fudge.

Alistair was heading this meeting whilst Birmingham and his Sorcery Division worked to perfect some of their more 'experimental weapons', now that the fighting was well and truly coming into the world.

"Politically it should mean a big shake up, there isn't any sort of system such as a deputy minister of magic…" Started someone from Jones's apothecary division, who also had a 'good understanding' of the wand user's political system.

"There isn't any clear succession, there never has been…from what we can tell anyone from within the Ministry can become Minister of Magic…" A man from Birmingham's sorcery division, who had left the wand user's world as a teenager after it was discovered he was a werewolf.

"I sense a but coming…" The Brig muttered.

The man smiled and sipped his coffee.

"However…generally there would need to be a vote, even with 'special powers'" He said making air quotes. "During 'troubling times' they would still probably insist on having a vote." His face darkened for a moment. "They'd also make sure no 'undesirable elements' got into the top job."

They all knew what the ministry, even without the close-minded Fudge and Umbridge thought of as undesirable. Not just werewolves, but all ministers in living memory had come from 'pureblood' families…whatever that meant.

"Is there any possibility that Dumbledore could try for Minister of Magic?" Alistair asked after a moment.

There was a pause around the table as the various people considered it.

"No…all intelligence concerning Albus Dumbledore suggests that his interests lie…not so much away from the Ministry…but he certainly doesn't…he seems to prefer the subtler methods where he isn't _directly _connected to the malice."

"Very well…dismissed…" Alistair nodded to everyone. "Robert."

Robert was a researcher part of Birmingham's Sorcery division, although he worked closely with the other departments in a research and analysis field.

"Brigadier?"

"What of Remus Lupin?"

"The request from Mr Potter?" Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

"Remus Lupin…werewolf, he was assisted by Sorcerer Birmingham through Mr Potter…from what…Harry has said he's a friend of his parents and himself." Robert flicked though his notes.

"Is there any possibility of trouble, should we invite him?"

"No sir…I don't believe so…from Mr Potter's reports Remus Lupin has been used by Dumbledore to further his own ends during what could be seen as the pre-stages of Voldemort's re-uprising."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded considering it.

"Very well Robert. Do a scout of a place to meet him…away from any wand user's sites…you know the drill."

"Certainly Brigadier."

--/

Birmingham shook himself and glanced around his surroundings, he'd arrived at the town that had been chosen to meet Remus Lupin.

The Brigadier had instructed that he'd be going through the teleporter, rather than apparating in order to limit any background magic that could be traced.

Luckily ASCS Hattah was in orbit to act as a relay for the teleport signal.

While his experiment utilising the transmat technology proved a theory and while it had been based on early trials of the technology there was no way he was putting his body through something which made a piece of paper crackle and spark when it encountered magical warding systems.

"Alpha One; in town, awaiting arrival of Last Raven and passenger." Birmingham muttered into his RT.

"_Roger Alpha One, standing by for extraction. Out."_

With that short conversation sorted he walked calmly over the centre of the village and settled against a stone plinth in the middle of the town, as he settled into a sitting position he checked his pockets once more.

Wand…not that he used it, weapons…but a stun/kill and a standard hand gun, various jamming devices…

Sighing to himself he pulled out a small bag and a crystal and rubbed a fine dust into his jacket and whistled at the crystal.

To anyone who had been paying attention to the person sitting in the middle of the village green he would have simply…slid out of their view.

It was more of an occlusion ritual than anything complicated like a charm that the wand users used to hide themselves.

The method was quite simple, it was simply a process of removing yourself from the surrounding's perceptions and building on the assumptions…the crystal was a catalyst for the process whilst the dust was a cleverly formulated low level psychic instigator for the process…as a result it gave most people a headache unless you were _really _used to it.

Birmingham looked up not 30 minutes later as the area around the graveyard shimmered in an unnatural and mysterious manner and from where there was just a tombstone two people stepped from around it.

He had instructed Harry to bring Remus Lupin to the meeting himself rather than via an apparition per the Brigadier's orders.

There were only so many towns around the United Kingdom which hadn't been apparated into on a recent basis.

Birmingham walked swiftly to the pub there were some others in the pub, however they would be there providing a visible presence, just in case anything happened.

While this was _just _a meeting, there was a possibility that Lupin could have been bugged…even though he'd taught Harry much of the counter surveillance and debugging techniques…The Brigadier thought it was best to be safe when…looking bringing in new people into Night Wolf…especially with the possibility that they could…'burn out' upon finding out various pieces of information about the world.

As Harry and Remus Lupin passed he inclined his head as though he were looking at the spirit bottles above the bar, Lupin seemed slightly unease, although he didn't seem to notice anything as they passed.

Birmingham watched as they took a seat near the back of the beer garden, seated away from everyone, positing themselves in a corner so they could watch the bar.

"Something non-alcoholic for me Harry…" Remus Lupin called towards Harry, Birmingham smiled to himself, Harry did have a tendency to hit the alcohol at odd and frequent times of the day…with hardly any ill effects.

"Harry." He muttered as Harry came to stand at the bar with him.

"Birmingham." Harry muttered without looking away from the menu he was pretending to read with a large amount of vigour.

"That was him?" Birmingham asked, just to be sure…

"Yep."

"Good." Birmingham said brushing away some of the dust from his clothing.

"Do you want me to wait?" Harry asked cautiously.

"If you want…" Birmingham trailed off, it wouldn't matter if Harry was here or not. "or you can return here when we've finished." He pulled an second RT from one of his pockets. "Here."

"An RT." Harry stated slipping it into his pocket. "I'll head to London…I need to get some things to…well for his cover story."

"I'll contact you when we're done."

"Right."

Harry paused for a moment looking over at the table, Remus had his back to them he nodded to Birmingham before departing.

Birmingham walked over to the table carrying two tall glasses of apple juice, unlike Harry…or like Remus Lupin he preferred not to drink…well not drink like Harry at any rate.

He placed the two glasses down on the table before sitting before him, he paused for a moment.

The man before him didn't look…he was healthier, but still had some of the after affects of years using the Wolf's Bane potion…among other things, he had stress lines around the eyes…and while he did look as though he had been living an easier life, the man before him, like many werewolves had had a hard life.

"Mr Lupin." It was a statement but Lupin still looked at him with surprise and suspicion.

"Yes." He said slowly, before he sized up Birmingham. Birmingham raised his assumptions of Lupin a bit, he was more built and slightly taller than Lupin…but there was that glare in Lupin's eye. "Where's Harry?"

"I'm Birmingham, he said he would return later…"

Lupin took a breath. "Mr Birmingham…"'

"Just Birmingham." He said as he pulled a set of papers from within his jacket, the Official Secrets Act and the Amended Articles.

"Before I can say anything…pertaining to Harry's activities I must ask you to sign this." Birmingham pushed the papers and a pen across the table. Lupin looked at him and the paper with suspicion. "Harry did say he trusted you implicitly."

It was unsaid that this was 'just a formally'…but formalities do have their usefulness…

"Read through and sign at the bottom."

"As long as it isn't in blood." Birmingham heard Reums mutter.

Birmingham watched the younger man as he read through in full everything in the Official Secrets Act and Amended Articles in full, his eyebrow's raised a few times, but there was nothing overtly revealing in either document…he did sign when he had finished reading, which was at least one hurdle concurred, there were some recruits in the past who upon reading the Act and the Articles wanted nothing more to do with the UN, just based on what could potentially be covered in the act.

Birmingham put both away in an envelope before replacing it and the ben inside his jacket.

"Thank you Mr Lupin."

"Call me Remus." Birmingham acknowledged with a nod.

"As a wizard Remus some of the points within the Articles and Act needn't apply in the strictest sense…however as Harry has demonstrated…and I'm sure you know, you cannot just tell anyone in the street…" Birmingham nodded toward the lazy country street outside the bar.

"So…where was Harry after his encounter with the Death Eaters in that town… Tellus?" Remus asked taking the glass of apple juice and eyeing Birmingham for several moments, Birmingham could see Remus's nostrils flaring as he was sniffing the juice, after several moments he took a sip.

Detecting if or if not a liquid contained a poison wasn't a skill that you learnt overnight, it was something learnt through time, skill and attempted poisonings, Birmingham's rating of Remus went up.

"Remus, as the last war with Voldemort drew to a close a group of people formed from a secret taskforce was formed to combat the threat."

"From Voldemort?" Remus asked curiously.

"From the wand using world." Birmingham supplied. "This force was a research, training and intelligence force…we came together, the outcasts from the _wizarding world_." He muttered with some disgust, while Birmingham didn't have the…hate of the wand using world like many within Night Wolf he did have some…distaste. "We have _squibs, _werewolves, other people…all working…"

"Against the wizarding world?"

"That is not the only thing we work on, there are other areas of research, development and exploration that we work towards, however the wizarding world has problems like Voldemort, that we want to help with."

"I see."

"Voldemort is much more a problem than anyone has really thought about Remus, and sooner or later he is going to be dealt with…the prophecy is only part of it…we will help Harry in any way we can…it is certainly better than _Dumbledore's _methods."

Birmingham continue to explain some of the finer details, about Night Wolf and himself to Remus's continue surprised.

"That's…incredible…" Remus exclaimed after some time.

Birmingham smiled, Remus was coping with the information with practised ease, much better than some of the Night Wolf recruits in the past….and some of those had tangled with Yetis and stunned by witches.

"Now, I think it's time for you to meet the General…He oversees the work and has assisted Harry throughout his endeavours…" Birmingham said casually watching Remus' reaction.

"How? And…where…how?" Remus asked genuinely shocked and confused by the influx of so much new information.

"I have my own…transportation…" Remus made to leave. "Stay here…Harry will take you…" Birmingham smiled at Remus as he stood up and took out his RT and twisting the frequency.

"Alpha One to Last Raven…" Birmingham paused for a moment, there was no response. "Come in Last Raven."

"…_One…Last Raven here receiving over…"_

"Meet a success…You may retrieve and return to base."

"_Confirmed Alpha One, Out."_ Birmingham smiled at Remus.

"I may see you at Night Wolf…good day Remus." Birmingham turned and walked out the door, passing Harry who was walking through the pub towards Remus.

Walking out into a side street near where he first appeared he withdrew his RT again.

"Alpha One to Greyhound Leader."

"_Report Alpha One."_

"Package on route, Last Raven in transit."

"_Ready to receive Alpha One. Ready to return?"_

"Just about to call the pigeon." Birmingham muttered.

"…" There was a chuckle. "_I don't think they'd appreciate that Alpha One, Out."_

Birmgham smiled to himself as he adjusted the frequency once more.

"Hattah, Alpha One. Ready for teleport."

"_Confirmed, coordinates locked…"_

There was a buzz and the world around Birmingham disappeared and faded away to be replaced by the interior of the Australian Space Core Ship Hattah.

"Back down to Night Wolf Sorcerer Birmingham sir?"

"Yes, thank you…" Birmingham nodded to the officer.

"Ready sir…" Birmingham nodded and watched the world dissolve away.

--/

Birmingham and Lethbridge Stewart were in the mess having late afternoon meal while they talked over the newest reports coming in from the field.

"So what did Remus tell you?" Birmingham asked turning over the page of the most recent report.

Attacks were increasing, mostly just 'collateral damage', MI5 was treating it as Real IRA activity, though the last time the Brig had returned from a meeting with Harry Pearce he'd mentioned that Pearce didn't seem to be _that _confident in that particular cover story.

While it could maybe be Real IRA attacks, there was the lack of…explosive residue…in fact the lack of any firearms residue, plus the lack of anything that could have caused the buildings, trees, cars and animals to have been destroyed…

Any witnesses quickly latched onto the idea of Real IRA…or unexploded WWII bombs…or simply 'madmen' killing animals and setting light to buildings before their very eyes…anything was more believable than the truth.

"We followed up some information…concerning Dumbledore, the current situation."

"Anything that Harry hasn't already said?" Birmingham asked curiously.

"Not as such, but there was some detail that I was curious about…how precisely Harry came to be with his Aunt an Uncle…there isn't much of a paper trail concerning him or his arrival at Privet Drive."

"I know…I did try to follow him there remember…" He muttered with some annoyance.

The Brigadier nodded.

"What do you think Birmingham? About these attacks?"

"I think…" Birmingham paused, sighing…"I think it's only going to get worse, and get there very quickly."

"That's what I was thinking…Focus our ships on resource gathering and supply, and redirect much of our resources to field work."

"Geneva?" Birmingham asked.

"They were worried when the dementors started wondering around a year or two ago…when we installed the jammers in Downing Street they were officially worried."

"I see…" Birmingham frowned, but had a determined look on his face. "This time, now we're ready."

"We're _more _ready Birmingham, it does nothing to be overly cocky…"

Birmingham almost rolled his eyes. "Yes Brigadier…that is what I've told Harry…"

"I see his sarcasm is rubbing off on you." Lethbridge Stewart chuckled.

--/

_Much of this chapter is co-current with Chapter 27 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space._

_I've changed some of the conversation to reflect the change in perspective here, here there's more of Remus and Birmingham's initial conversation and reflection._

_Thanks for reading, as always I will most likely reply to all reviewers._


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 20**

Captain David Jones ducked behind a mock Tudor wall as several curses were flung parallel from him.

Leaning around he looked around, it was…a mess, spells, bullets and other weaponry fire was being flung back and forth, there was the constant hum, rising in pitch as a spell impacted with the magical jamming fields, the jamming devices were all plugged into the large UNIT trucks they'd brought with them.

**2 Days Earlier…**

Captain Jones, Colonel Rudd, Captain Gillard and Major Latham sat together with each of their teams in one of the larger briefing halls inside Night Wolf.

"Following surveillance by several of our teams, and collating information of the last couple of attacks with information from MI5 we have been identified this." A series of images photographed from an obvious distance flashed onto the two screens on either side of the lectern, it showed an older village with a small manor house over looking.

"This is where we believe many of Voldemort's forces have a centralised base."

"Sir? Is Voldemort stationed here?" Captain Julia Gillard asked.

Birmingham shook his head.

"We don't believe so, however 4 other Night Wolf teams will be conducting a simultaneous raid on Voldemort's house in Little Hangleton..."

Birmingham stepped aside as Rick Jennings stepped up to the lectern, he was part of Night Wolf's Research, Information and Logistics department.

"The target has been on the books as a 'mock Tudor' village back to around the 1940s, records before that were supposedly lost in the war. According to our research and what MI5 researched _independent_" He muttered slightly annoyed. "of us, it was taken over at some point during the war, all services that is had were disconnected. It may have been used as a large scale safe house for Voldemort's predecessor…" He paused flicking the screens over to enhanced pictures of the site.

"From initial surveys this is a completely wand user magical site…each of your teams will have a troop carrier for your teams and weapons, you will also be carrying large scale wand user magical jamming devices, with additional power units."

"Sir…will we have air support?" Colonel Rudd asked.

"No Colonel, the village, while set away from the local township presents too much a risk…also with the concentration of wand users in this area it presents too high a risk for the RAF commander….Now…you will be carrying all battlefield grade weaponry…P90s, the S/K-1 that's the Stun/Kill weapons, Scott has some updates on the battlefield front..." He flicked a button again and the screens changed to display an array of rocket launchers, grenade launchers and various other heavy weapons. "Your will have a selection of enhanced grenades carrying a mix of aggressive and passive weapons…the passive weapons are such things as fog fields, atmospheric dampening, and a grenade which should charge the atmosphere around a target we believe stopping or weakening a majority of their wand based spells…you and your teams are to report to Weapons Integration at 1300 for a detailed briefing."

**5 Hours Earlier…**

Jones swiftly changed gear on the large troop carrier pushing it faster than all the traffic on the motor way, the engine was still purring along, Jones smiled to himself, the engineers in Night Wolf really knew their stuff, if he'd tried to do this speed in a normal one the engine would be making more noise than a tank.

Behind his truck and in front of him were the other teams from Night Wolf, each truck despite all the equipment, the bulky jammers and everything else packed into with them they were still pushing 100 miles an hour as they thundered towards their target.

**1 Hour Earlier…**

Jones drove quietly up the dusty country lane, Rudd, Gillard and Latham were doing the same, they were attacking along basic compass lines, according to Max Robinson of Apothecary with his little bundles and whatever travelling along defined magnetic and compass lines of North, South, East and West woiuld afford them more protection in the battle.

"How much further Sam?" He asked in a low voice of the woman beside him, she was glancing at various screens linked to probes on the front of the truck.

He glanced across at the scanners she was looking at as he inched the truck closer to the magical field, while the front of the truck was shielded as best they could it wasn't impervious to the wand user's magical field.

"Just…about…stop!" She hissed as she watched the various scanning lines and information dance across the screen.

Jones jumped out of the truck walking around the back of the truck.

"Ok, get the jammers set up either side of the truck 5 meters, make sure they're hooked into the power supply on board." Jones ordered in a low voice.

Lt Samantha Parkin was at the front of the truck with a set of night vision goggles on looking around.

"What have you got Sam?"

Jones asked as he walked up handing her a P90 and a S/K-1, they'd been ordered to shoot to kill.

"There's definitely some sort of concealing spell…everything's blurry…"

Jones glanced at his watch, they had arrived at their position with 15 minutes to spare, the attack was timed to begin in sections with a 5 minute gap in between each team's first assault to maximise their panic.

"Sir, ready for power up."

"What about…"

"Just breaking out the launchers now…"

"When you've got the grenade launchers, line up a target for them then begin power up."

"Sir."

A moment later a humming began, is was a very low noise, but you could almost…not feel it, the same way you _felt _the magical wards that were around this area of land.

Jones glanced at his watch…

**30 Minutes Earlier…**

The hex came out from around a corner and slammed into him, it felt like he'd been shot with half a dozen bullets, it was, not for the first time and certainly not the last time he'd thank the people back at Night Wolf.

His vest had absorbed a lot of the impact, and he wasn't bleeding which was good, but he'd have a bruise, or 20 to think about later.

Jones rolled himself up and shot more than half his clip in the general direction of where the spell had originated.

The noise of the bullets was low compared to the various explosions, cries of various spells and the spattering of blood and bone as bullets racing at a higher velocity than the fastest spells ripped through their targets.

Jones crouched and made his way to where he hoped he'd taken down the bastard who had been torturing Rudd with one other wand'r.

Rounding the corner he found the wretch, dead he'd got a kill shot, but some how the wand'r was trying to revive himself…despite the bullets through his skull, heart and stomach.

He stretched down and grabbed the wand from his fingers snapping it as he did and moved on.

"Muggles…everywhere…here you are…Crucio!" Jones barely had time to spin around as the man came up behind him.

In some part of his mind it registered that the man had a French accent…that was just after the spell was cast and then he was concentrating all his energy on trying to block out the fire of his nerves all burning at once.

There wasn't any way you could actually beat the Cruciatus curse, according to the Sorcery division strength of will would provide…respite from the worst effects, but it was still the equivalent of fighting through a furnace as your body went to ash around you.

Supposedly it was all in the mind.

Supposedly.

Jones tried to keep that thought in his mind as he inched his finger onto the safety flicking it off…or he thought he flicked it off…

Then 3 bullets whipped past his ear and he fell to the cool wet dark ground, breathing and shaking slightly.

"…" Jones was sure that whoever had said something, but at the moment his ears were ringing and he was trying not to throw up and to stop shaking, he was managing one of those.

The shaking and the ringing continued as he was pulled up.

"Captain, Sir…" Jones felt a stick of something that smelt vaguely like aniseed pressed into his mouth and he tried to chew it down.

It was then, as he chewed that he recognised it. The apothecary division's 'crucio recovery bar'; should anyone experience the curse it would help with the recovery, containing various relaxants, plus various quick energy elements everything caffeine to complex minerals and components, it would bring you back from the breach.

Swallowing the last of it he pushed himself up.

"Lance…what happened…"

"Sir…Colonel Rudd…I…he…"

"Lance!" Jones bit out.

"He…I…he's dead sir…I nearly…"

"He was just recovering when he ordered me away…" Jones muttered.

"Sir…"

"Did you get them?" Jones asked looking at the younger man.

"Sir…yes sir…"

"Good…continue towards the primary objective." Jones said quickly, the shaking was dieing down.

"Sir are you…"

Jones nodded.

"Go…we're still on a schedule…"

Jones took off towards the main building.

**5 Minutes Earlier…**

Rounding a corner he saw there was…something a barrier and a shimmering image of…something, it looked like a sphinx and a dragon.

A part of his mind guessed it was shimmering because of the jammers, he could hear them whining as the absorbed spells…not that that was technically in their design parameters, technically they were meant for stopping magic, not keeping up an energy barrier.

He stepped out in front of the dragon and sphinx, they each roared, the dragon sending a plume of fire his way…throwing himself, once more to the muddy ground he felt the hairs on the back of his head sear and burn.

**Present…**

Doubling back he threw himself as 3 spells from 3 wizards were flung in his general direction.

Leaning around the mock Tudor wall he realised that the spells hadn't been aimed at him but Major Latham who was firing off at the wizard with his S/K-1 in one hand and his P90 in the other…doing so you sacrificed accuracy for more fire power…

He managed to duck two of the spells but the second, if Jones guessed correctly was a stunner hit directly in his chest sending him backwards still firing before slumping down.

Jones grabbed around his belt and grabbed a grenade…it was more or less a standard grenade, it had a yellow band around it indicating it had a scattering field, which meant it would explode and create a brief field of static and various other particles creating an electrostatic fog.

Pulling the pin he lobbed the grenade, there was a pause that seemed to stretch for an age, but lasted only a moment.

The explosion was small, made for close combat, it's effects were wider.

Jones could hear the crackling as he ran in a crouch out from behind the wall, firing at each target he could see as he made his way for the manor house, the air fizzing around him as he took down...one…two…three…four…the wand'rs dropping as he passed, their bodies crushed by the force of a bullet ripping through their cardiovascular system.

Energy flared from his S/K-1 as he alternated from his P90 to that as he can up the stairs joined by 6 others from all the teams, they were flanking him as he kicked in the door, rolling under the spells.

Like a machine…or wolves driven by the hunt he nodded to them communicating only through signals they each took a room, moving more swiftly alone than as a unit.

**10 Minutes Later…**

Jones walked out of the building, an absorbent pad pressed against his arm absorbing the shallow wound from a too close cutting curse…he was pretty sure he'd also cracked two ribs…but he smiled to himself…slightly it could have been worse…it could have been three.

"Captain Jones…David!" Jones looked up and over to see Sam running up, he had been looking over the remains of a village, it was salvageable, though what Night Wolf could use it for…there were some fires still burning, but the sit-rep he'd received…from one of Major Latham's team said that they'd eliminated all wand'rs…although a lot of their 'other' systems were still active. Jones had thoughts they means the image of the dragon and sphinx he'd encountered.

"Lt…" He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of bile and blood…the results of another casting of a cruciatus followed by some sort of similar shocking spell in too many minutes. He coughed for another few minutes before wiping the sweat, blood and whatever else from his mouth.

"Sam…what is it?" He said after a couple of moments.

"Call coming in from Night Wolf…sir…priority…"

Jones nodded.

"Where?"

"Our truck…sir..."

"Sit-rep Lt…" Jones nodded for her to walk with him…just in case he needed to collapse…not that he said anything.

"Colonel Rudd…"

"KIA…I know…" Jones accepting a water bottle from Parkin, he'd lost his at some point.

"Major Latham is out with a concussion…we've got him in his truck…"

"Anyone else KIA?"

"Lt Ted Shirr wounded in hand to hand…he had some sort of anti-coagulant spell cast on him…died of blood loss…about 6 minutes ago…"

Jones nodded as they walked up the ridge towards the truck and inside the jamming the strongest parts of the jamming field.

"Anyone else?"

"Nothing fatal sir…" She paused for a little too long. "Captain Gillard is getting over prolonged use of the cruciatus…her 2IC said she was conscious…just…she said that you're in command…"

Jones nodded and grabbed the side of the truck with his non bleeding arm and grabbed at his radio slipping it into his ear.

"Tiger to Nigh Wolf…receiving…"

"_Receiving Tiger, patching through…_" Jones waited, grabbing a bandage and a tube of an assistant to coagulant and bonding out of his vest and squeezed a portion onto his arm, he grit his teeth as it fell on…it was only mildly less painful than the cruciatus…probably only because it was only on his open and gapping wound.

It fizzed and hissed as he felt the wound go taut he wrapped a bandage around it quickly.

"_Tiger…Greyhound Leader, sit-rep."  
_"Village secure…Colonel Rudd KIA, Lt. Shirr KIA, Major Latham unconscious…Captain Gillard suffering extraneous effects of cruciatus…no other casualties."

"_Good, Tiger…Situation, Cromwell…"_ The Brig's voice was…concerned…Jones almost groaned.

"Not another attempt…" Then he added "Sir…"

"_Negative…Initial reports from Hangleton raid report a planned attack on Buckingham Palace…Royals held hostage…"_

"Is the Hangleton team dealing?"

"_Negative, Tiger, they're encountering heavy resistance…prepare your teams for transmat…"_

"Sir?"

"_Flinders is preparing for large scale transmat of your vehicles…will take wounded and kit you out…Night Wolf is liasing with MI5 and Marines…"_

"Sir we've got…"

"_We know…Tiger…all teams engaged, multiple attacks…your teams have the most available jammers…" _Jones nodded to himself and the Brig's words…after all Cromwell…was an attempt on the government…

"Sir…ETA to transmat?"

"_15 minutes Captain…transmit exact coordinates on secondary frequency…"_

"Received…Greyhound Leader…we're gonna need a clean up crew…"

"_On route, good luck Tiger, Greyhound Leader Out."_

Jones nodded and grabbed for the radio and began to radio the other trucks.

**8 Minutes Later…**

They'd just finished packing away the last of their equipment and loading the wounded then moved, now they were just waiting.

"_ASCS Flinders to Tiger, ready for transmat in 2 minutes."_

Jones figured it was more a warning than a question.

"Tiger to all units, prepare for transmat." Jones muttered across the radio and sat back waiting for the dematerialisation and the bad feeling it brought with it.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 21**

Up, so far up that there wasn't much else, just space, planet and the gravity field the Australian Space Core Ship _Flinders_ began it's manoeuvre, checking and rechecking its coordinates in relation to the various telescopes pointed space wards.

In order to transmat they needed to disengage their Fidelius Charm around the ship, as a matter of course it was disengaged when they left the solar system…however when in orbit they kept it 'on', unless they needed to transfer supplies when it wasn't time convenient to land.

But _when_ they did that all the satellites, American space shuttle paths and whatever else was worked out, so no one saw them.

"Ready to begin transmat of Night Wolf troop carriers Captain." Captain Paul Jennings nodded to his SSC officer to begin.

On the ground Jones and most of the other troops grabbed a hold of something and gritted their teeth as the wholly unpleasant experience began and the four troop carriers disappeared from the surface of the planet Earth…and a moment…or two later rematerialised with a hum of technology on board the ASCS Flinders.

Jones was dry heaving and sucking in large lungfuls of air, quite aware that yes he had cracked a few ribs, the transmat did nothing to make him feel better, no matter how many people assured him that it was safe for people.

It was after he'd breathed in a half a dozen deep breaths that he noticed all the personnel from the Flinders rushing around…he knew this would be a quick change over…that the Flinders was currently visible to everyone, if not for the expert navigating on the part of the helmsperson on board, hopefully keeping them out of the way of all prying eyes.

"Captain Jones Sir." An officer was standing by the window to his truck holding a palm sized computer.

Jones swallowed again and nodded.

"We're just about finished loading all the supplies, Night Wolf said you'd want an update of everything."

"Go ahead…"

"Sir…" Sam passed him a water bottle again, having swallowed another mouthful of water he was feeling less like he'd been attempted to be stunned 4 times in the last few hours.

"We've taken the severely injured, Captain Gillard as well…"

"How many…?"

"A total of…" He looked down at his computer. "6 officers have been moved to the medical lab…everyone else has been patched up, they've assured our medics that they're ready."

"Weapons?" Jones asked grabbing at his own S/K-1.

"I'll swap yours and your 2IC now…" Jones passed his and Sam's over he was handed back with two exactly the same weapons.

"We've replenished your stocks of ammunition for all your troops P90 and you have extra power packs for the jamming devices…although…" He trailed off, Jones stared at the officer for a moment…

"What is it Lieutenant?" Jones barked.

"We don't have any stocks of the altered grenades that you and your teams were using during the operation, all stocks are currently in play."

"Kit my teams out with standard grenades and any other weapons you've got lying around…" The Lt looked blankly for a moment, Jones sighed. "Smoke bombs, anaesthetising gas, anything…"

"Sir…I'll get to that…" He looked down at his computer once more tapping at it as he walked off.

A minute or two later Jones was starting to feel half alive.

"_Standby for transmat, Standby for transmat…"_

"Sir…Captain Jennings asked me to inform you…your transmat coordinates is a UNIT safe house 15 kms from your target."

"Thank you Lt…is everything…?"

"Loaded captain…"

"_Transmat in 30 seconds, all personnel to safe areas…standby for wide scale transmat…"_

The leiutennant nodded and walked off at a fast pace.

"Well Sam…"

"Yes sir…shallow breaths and try not to vomit on the equipment." She said with a chuckle.

In the dark early morning of a large London back lot a set of 4 large troop carriers materialised into existence, none of the troops on board lost their stomaches, which was quite an achievement having just recently passed through the transmat twice in as many minutes.

Jones chucked the carrier into gear and began making their way towards Buckingham Palace.

"Tiger to Night Wolf, Greyhound Leader are you receiving?" Jones said as he hit the radio. "Arrived successfully, travelling to target."

"_Received Tiger, marines on site have orders to follow your lead…plans of Palace and initial MI5 data uploading to you now…set up jammers along lines similar to previous op. MI5 on site to provide up to minute intelligence."_

"Received Night Wolf…ETA target…" He looked to Lt Parkin beside him.

"8 minutes Sir."

"ETA to target 4 minutes…" Jones said as he roughly changed gear and planted his foot down harder, the truck ploughed on through the quiet streets of London.

"_Received Tiger, Night Wolf Out."  
_

There was a police barrier acting as a perimeter around the outskirts of Buckingham Palace…_there was_, Jones didn't bother slowing his convoy down, there was no one patrolling it, and there wasn't anyone to stop the UNIT convoy as it drove through the barrier.

"Was that necessary…sir?" Lt Parkin asked with a smile, Jones just shrugged.

"Best speed and all that…and…oh shit…" Jones muttered as he slowed the troop carried down, he could see Buckingham Palace now…and so could anyone this close…the walls around the Palace were…glowing a swirling red.

"Oh crap…"

Jones hauled himself out of his troop carried and walked down the length of it to the others barking out orders.

"Prepare for compass assault on my word…head round…and I'll sort out…the guys here…"

There were a round of Sirs as they pulled out a few people jumped out of one truck and helped with various pieces and evened up the team numbers.

Jones turned and walked back towards the front gates of Buckingham Palace.

"Who the devil are you?"

Jones looked up at an officer, a Colonel…who looked way over his head…though still pompous enough to look down on him. Maybe it was his dirty uniform, splattered with dirt…blood and spell dust.

"UNIT." Jones said simply. "Where's Five?"

"Five? No one said…" Jones had already turned and was looking around the perimeter, his eye settled on a white panel van that had either been left deliberately or ignored by the Colonel.

"Lt Parkin!" Jones called out. "Get the jammer hooked up, wide band V broadcast…"

Sam Parkin nodded.

Jones walked calmly over to the van and wrenched the door open.

"Five?"

"Who are you?" A woman with short hair was watching a monitor along with a man.

"UNIT. Captain Jones…my CO said you'd be here, what's the situation?"

The two MI5 officers looked at each other for a moment. Jones resisted the urge to sigh.

"Do I have to shoot you and find out for myself?" Jones asked tiredly, he was still feeling the effects of the variety of hexes, curses, and various physical and psychological abuses that had been inflicted upon him…not to mention going through the transmat…twice.

"An unknown group of people some how breached Palace security at 0100, killing all security personnel with some form of shock weapon…" the man typed in a command and one of the small monitors showed a group of 6 people in dark long robes, the black and white image showed a bright coloured light erupt from a rod in two of the lead people's hands.

"When did you loose transmission?"

"How did you…?" The woman asked.

"0130…that's when the…light show began."

Jones nodded and glanced at his watch…Voldemort's death eaters had been inside for an hour, half an hour behind secure wards.

He hit the radio comms button on his chest.

"Jones to Lt Parkin, status." Jones reached up for his radio which was usually over his ear with a boom out, but he'd lost it at some point during the battle, he'd need to grab a new one from the truck…but even then, even with the jamming devices there was still going to be a lot of magic around…but if they could get some information before….

"_Sir, jammers are set up, I have a go from all points…"_ Lt Parkin's voice filled the van.

"Good, what's the strength of the wards around the palace?"

"…" There was an audible silence, although the frequency was open, the two MI5 officers shared a look, the woman mouthing to the man 'jammers'? There was an implied question in her look to him, but his stare into her eyes silenced any questions.

"Sam?"

"_Just…just a second sir...we're rigging up further comms…there's a repelling charm around the outskirts…it's been carefully laid to disrupt a lot of ground based EM sources…it's interfering with some radio traffic…standby…connecting with Sorcerers Jakob and Stanley…_"

Lt Sam Parkin was standing outside the truck she had come in, with the jammer standing some distance away, cables leading from it to the truck where the extra power units were hooked together…

She was rapidly flicking through the various higher and lower frequencies whilst adjust the large flat aerial on top of the truck to gain a better than a few words link up for Captain Jones so he could be apprised of the Sorcerer's opinions…

Tom Quinn stared at the man…the man from UNIT who was in a half crouch half lean inside the oppo van.

Harry hadn't said anything about UNIT being involved…just to 'expect some company and help…'

He was just about to say something, when Zoe obviously wanted to know as well.

"I thought UNIT dealt with…crack pots pretending to be aliens…or…"

"Or 'terrorists', or 'mass and localised hysteria', 'joint hallucinations', 'archaeological curiosities' or 'weather anomalies'?" Captain Jones asked cynically. Zoe could hear the talking marks in his voice.

"Well…I…"

"How do we know you're from UNIT, you could be anyone…" Tom put forward…admittedly the…barriers were…something, but that wasn't to say that…the captain was using his radio again, Tom could hear the…it wasn't so much exhaustion…there was…he watched the Captain's hands, and his eyes, he nodded to Zoe, but she was already studying him.

His eyes were more than twitchy, his hair was matted with more than just dirt…he had several wounds all of them bar one of two untreated, and while they weren't in any critical areas were bleeding quite badly, and many other…scorch marks…but the size and diameter were so precise…and yet they weren't bullet wounds…

"Tiger to Night Wolf come in?" There was a long pause.

"_Receiving Tiger. Report?"_

"Successfully arrival at Palace, beginning operation…Five requesting…" Jones looked at the two officers curiously for a moment, seeing them studying his form. "Confirmation of identity…"

"_Standby Tiger…Greyhound Leader will confirm with Five HQ._"  
"Received Night Wolf, Out." Jones leant back a bit more against the van's shelves containing various bits of equipment.

"Sam, what's the status?"

"_Rigging up final comms for mission sir…so we can…"_

"Good…fine…" Jones winced and looked at his right arm, it was bleeding in several places, he hadn't noticed but the two MI5 officers had.

"Do you...we've got a first aid kit…" the woman started.

Jones shook his head and started going through his upper pockets and pulled out a blue packet followed by a yellow packet of a gel and finally a clear package of liquid.

"Could I just…" He put all three down on the bench and rolled up his shirt along his arm. He spared a glance…Doctor Baker would really have to look at is when he got back, but for not there was only one wound he needed to worry about, the one that was still bleeding, and was quite large.

"Can we…" the man started.

"What's your name?" Jones asked suddenly as he grit his teeth as another wave of pain swept from his arm…obviously a spell he thought to himself.

"Zoe." The woman…Zoe said suddenly.

"Open the liquid pack…carefully…"

She eyed it and nodded, handing it to him gently.

They both watched and he became aware that his arm was shaking as he took the cleanser and poured it on and clenched his teeth, he felt it was through the wound and all around the edges…burning away the spell damage.

Tom's eyes went wide watching whatever it was slop around the wound…what was more…surprising was a the hissing noise and the smoke that wafted from the Captain's wound.

"Zoe…if you could the gel…the yellow one…" Zoe nodded quickly opening the second pack, she caught smell of it…it smelt…odd…nothing like a medical gel…more like a…a naturalist's shop, or greenhouse…no it was something more…she couldn't put her finger on it…and considering the amount of places she'd had to hide out in…

Jones slowly squirted the gell onto his arm, it was cooling, rushing into the gaps and puncture holes left by the spell…whatever it was, almost silently he whispered to himself, the words helped activate some of the finer points of the spell, they were written on the yellow package, but he'd done this enough times to know it off by heart.

Zoe strained to hear what the soldier was saying, she'd decided in her mind that he was a soldier.

She frowned…there was definitely some English in the muttered words but also…some Latin…and something else…

"Now the blue…if you please Zoe?" Jones asked, he sounded slightly less strained.

Zoe nodded. Tom noticed that instead of just dropping the empty packets he was stuffing them into his pocket.

Jones unwrapped the last package, inside was a specially designed bandage, he took it out wrapping it carefully around the spell damaged wound, sticking it and closing sealing.

Jones glanced over at the agents as something flashed on their screen, he noticed them adjust their mics and headphones.

"Harry?" The man said.

"_Tom, the man you have with you is from UNIT."_

"What the hell is going on here Harry…you get some information and you tell us to bug tha palace! Now this…"

"_Then it is fortunate that we were…testing surveillance of the palace in case of a terrorist attack…with full Royal support."_

"Except you had me and Malcolm sneak in and plant it all!" Zoe muttered.

"Full royal support Zoe." Tom reminded.

"You mean there's…"

"A spy inside the palace." Jones said simply, the two Five officers looked up at him.

"_Give Captain David Jones your full support Zoe, Tom…he is from UNIT, and he and his team have far more experience with these…Terrorists than we do…_"  
"What do you know Harry…why weren't we…?" Tom asked slowly.

"_I know as much as you do Tom…security clearances go higher than mine. The UNIT stories are only stories because people want to think they are."_ The line went dead.

"_Connecting everyone up now Sir, standby."_

"Received." Jones said as he patted over his pockets finding another bar of energy supplement with the cruciatus curse assistance in it and began to chew through it, the vague aniseed smell filled the van.

"Does liquorice really help with deep battle wounds?" Tom asked suddenly.

"No, but this isn't liquorice and that wasn't a _deep _battle wound…if it was, you'd be able to see the bone and I alone couldn't have stopped the bleeding."

"_Captain Jones sir…" _A voice followed by a second "_…ain Jones Sir."  
_"Stanley, Jakob, what are we facing?"

"_I've been working with Sorcerer Stanley sir…we're looking at a pretty powerful wards…they've been specifically designed…it's not your bog standard deflection and occlusion barrier…this was meant to be seen…it's also very resistant to physical intrusion…Lt Parkin noted that the military forces already here had tried using offensive means to gain entry." _

Jones nodded, that mean they'd shot at it, tried to blow it up and probably tried ramming it. With many of the wand'rs wards and barriers they may have succeeded.

"I'm guessing they had no success."

"_Negative sir. Cursory tests conclude that there's a lot of power in these barriers, they were probably after the group entered the palace." _Sorcerer Stanley stated.

"So we can't eliminate who ever set these up even if they're inside."

"_Negative."_

"Are we getting inside?" Jones now asked.

"_Yes…I think sir…" _It was Jakob again. "_We're going to need all of the power...including what's left in the emergency packs as well…and even then…we're not going to get a V pattern, most likely a focused jamming beam…"_

"Right…standby. Sam…can you link up the directional jamming systems and control where the beam focus is from your location?"

"_Yes sir…"_

"I want you to standby to direct the magical jammers…in case there are any traps left by the death eaters…and if any of them escape stop them from leaving the mark…last thing London needs."

"_Sir…it'll take a few minutes to link everyone's jammers up to our systems."_

"Where is the relay aerial for your equipment?"

Tom and Zoe were momentarily startled after listening to the exchange.

Tom opened a map and pointed to a point to the side of the palace.

"Sam, when you have control power up the east side first, Five have some surveillance…" He grabbed at another pocket and pulled out a quite clean hand held computer and tapped a couple of keys and found something inside the van that the computer's reverse engineered communications system could interface in. "I'm linked up my comp to their systems, so you should be getting a signal."

"_Yes sir…static."_

"That's because the surveillance equipment is within the jamming field."

"…" It went quiet for a second and Jones smiled to himself.

"_Jamming field, east powering up now…" _The screens flared with life, that they were receiving a signal, but the cameras were still dead. _"Redirecting to get some of their cameras and mics…" _Came a pause after a moment.

One of the cameras in the hall, plus a mic came up.

Zoe hit a button sound filling the van.

"How much longer for you Polyjuice Dolohov to end?"

"Switch to the hall way…we should be able to see into the sun room." Tom said checking that everything was recording.

The picture was a little fuzzy but they could see.

"Sam hold it there…we're getting a picture up…confirmed Death Eaters."

The picture which continued to flare every so often showed 7 people in dark robes, only 5 wore white masks.

"You're the one who came early." The who…looked like a woman…Tom was sure he'd seen her walking around the Palace…she was head of staff or something.

"The Dark Lord decided that the plan would benefit if we began earlier in the night."

"So Mulciber, are you just going to keep having the guards kill each other…the least you could do is not have them pierce the neck…the last spray hit me in the eye." The voice grumbled…or stated excitedly…Tom couldn't guess which, whatever it was, was happening was just out of sight.

"What about the Royals, who's in there?"

"The Queen, and the Princes." Zoe said.

"So…best to go in now…" Jones said, and thought to himself 'and not leave England with no monarchy…or a mad one…or one under the Imperious…obviously the bloodshed was to weaken their resolve otherwise they'd have been Imperioed by now…'

"Tune your radio to...0006144000. That'll let you contact Lt Parkin." He turned to go, grabbing the slithers of the end of his medical package and stuffing them into his pocket and activated his radio as he exited the van.

"Sam, prepare for go, I'll be leading out team…I'm leaving you to liase with Five."

"_Sir."_

Jones walked away from Five's van towards the main gates into Buckingham Palace where his team was already waiting.

"Look here _Captain, _I want some answers, who the devils are you, what are you doing here what the bloody hell is going on." Jones turned and realised that it was the Colonel from the Army, he resisted for not the first time that evening to sigh…

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, we're here to deal with this problem." He jabbed a hand backwards to MI5's opp van. "Check with Five, they'll confirm. My teams and I are going to sort out your problem…before we need to find a new monarchy." Jones almost frowned to himself…that was slightly melodramatic, but it got the cocky slightly angry expression off the Colonel face.

"I demand you take my men with you…"

"Negative."

"Negative?"

"It means no Colonel." Jones said as he continue walking, the Colonel started to follow, Jones turned back to stare hard at him.

"Set up a perimeter around the outside of the Palace…should anyone wearing black cloaks try to leave shoot them down."

"Black…cloaks…" He said slowly.

Jones had already walked away.

"_Standing by Captain, all jammers are set and primed, full power…though even with a focused beam…I'm not sure how long they'll last…even then you're going to hit patches without coverage…"_

"Received…Jones to all teams, standby for go from Lt Parkin."

There were a series of confirmed signals from the three other teams' acting leaders.

Jones watched as the fuzzy red ward flexed for a moment as the dull hum of the jamming devices kicked up several notes to a whine and a curved 'hole' appeared in the barrier around 250 meters in a sort of rounded rectangle.

Jones led his team through the corridors of the palace, the lights all around them were flickering, or had exploded at some point.

There were bodies along the corridors, most of them dead, though some were just unconscious, with definite signs of the cruciatus curse.

They made eye contact with the other teams, Jones was thankful that most Palace rooms had more than one entrance, two of the teams were on the side entrances, his and what have previously been Latham's team were at either sides of the main double doors, listening.

"Well Mulciber?" The voice of the man who had been potioned to appear as a woman asked…obviously called Dolohov.

"Well what Dolohov? You ask me as though you expect something." The other voice asked annoyed.

"Have you succeeded yet?" The voice/Dolohov asked.

"You still have plenty to torture." Mulciber stated…with a hint of glee that made Jones worry for the state of the people within the room.

"Let me see…Imperio..." The word was muttered…but despite that Jones could feel the sizzle of energy…and then there was the scream of a mind and body in conflict…

"He is strong…for a muggle."

"The dark lord wants control of muggle England…now that Fudge is gone."

"Sam stand by, 1 minute, then all jammers on the sun room."

There was a swirl of static followed by a series of crackles until a voice made it through.

"…_not covered…Repeat, Confirmed…Prepare for null areas not covered…"_

"Jones to all teams, prepare to storm in…" He counted backwards, his watch having been blasted from his wrist at some point during the previous engagement. "40 seconds…"

Jones checked his S/K-1 and his P90. He held his S/K-1 ready as did his team and the team opposite them, while they would have set to kill and their weapons had been designed in such a way that they wouldn't be jammed by the jammers…there was the positive of using them over bullets in closed quarters fighting, a stray bullet through soft tissue of one of the death eaters could injure (or infect), or fill one of the hostages.

He and the acting commander of Latham's team kicked in the door as they felt the beams from the magical jammers re-direct to the room.

Inside the room, the death eaters had started to panic, Mulciber in particular had been in the middle of casting an Imperio of the youngest who appeared most succeptible to manipulation, but like the old woman and the other he was strong willed…for a muggle, but no muggle was strong enough to beat the might of a wizard in service of the dark lord.

It was as he was pushing through the young mudblood's mind and attempting to sow the seeds of destruction that…the spell stopped, he looked down at his wand for a moment and tried to cast a diagnostic spell…and nothing happened.

"Dolohov…what…"

And then the doors…two on the side he hadn't noticed were kicked in and a green light erupted from the muggle's…it looked like the killing curse, but they weren't saying anything…and they were mudbloods…no smarter than a house elf.

"If the dark lord can't have you as his puppet…I'll as make you mine…" Mulciber muttered and grabbed a hold of the youngest trying to strangle him. The two older males tried to move to stop him, but Dolohov had tortured them…lightly to ease their submission.

Jones moved through blasting at the Death Eaters, it seemed they some talent and a few of them had found themselves in the black spots of the room where they could use their wands.

He left his team and Latham's to deal with them, the other two were making their way through the remaining two death eaters towards where Dolohoiv and Mulciber were, Dolohov was already on the ground.

Mulciber was.

"Shit." Jones muttered to himself stuffing his S/K-1 into his holster and taking careful aim with his P90, and shot him through the head, had he tried to fire with his S/K-1 he might have hit whoever Mucliber was throttling.

Jones ran up prising Mulciber's hands off…Prince Harry…thankfully he wasn't dead, just…shaken…and coughing.

The other royals though…

"Sorcerers!" Jones shouted out across the room. Jones could have shouted for anyone really, everyone was carrying the cruciatus recovery bars, but the Sorcerers could help identify what had happened a little more precisely, than him, even through he'd had some training.

Sorcerer Jakob run over pulling out of his pocket a crystal and a set of dust in a packet in the other and glanced, touching the forehead of the Queen, Prince William and Price Charles.

He forced a cruciatus recovery bar into William and Charles's hand.

"Eat it…it will help you recover."

The he moved over to the Queen and sat her into a more comfortable position, withdrawing a clear packet from inside his vest, emptying it into his hand he then blew it gently over the unconscious monarch, it settled, some of it flying up her nose and into her mouth.

"Rest…rest and sleep…" Jones heard Jakob continue to mutter softly as the Queen's eyes moved rapidly behind her eyes.

Jakob pulled Jones away from the royals.

"How are they?"

"Better than most…you have strong monarch." He stated. "The Queen was hit with the Imperio control spell…but the torturers were obviously needing them for something, she has simply passed out…though she could have stayed that way forever…"

"And you…"

"She will awaken…in time. The others, Charles and William have both been subjected to light doses of the torture curse and the several doses of the control curse…also strong willed, they should recover…though we should not let them be treated by any doctors…any other drugs within their system will counteract their natural healing abilities…" Jakob paused for a moment. "An east facing window for the sunlight…preferable this morning's…to rebalance their bodies after this night."

"And Prince Harry."

"No pain curse…that I can tell…but as the youngest even these butchers probably wouldn't have risked it. He has had many attempts on his mind and control…he may have some personality fluctuations…" Jakob frowned for a moment. "But there shouldn't be any lasting damage…he is a strong one, determined.

Jones nodded.

"Sam all clear her, contact Night Wolf, we need a Night Wolf cleared doctor, all monarchs alive…we also need clean up teams…most of the Palace staff were killed…all death eaters down…"

There was still a lot of static, and then a crackle.

"_Received. Captain, barrier appears to be dissipating…army troops attempted entry…it's still in force, but it's not taking as much power to punch a hole through…"_

"Received…we'll do a check through, in case there's any more." Jones gathered up the teams leaving one on guard with the royals, the rest performing a sweep of the Palace until further teams from UNIT and Night Wolf arrived.

Harry sat with Tom and Zoe watching the footage, watching the _UNIT_ teams run into the palace firing…weapons at the men in cloaks…the 'terrorists', that Lethbridge Stewart and he had discussed previously.

Then there was his discussion with the UNIT commander a few hours ago upon viewing everything that Zoe and Tom had recorded, then reading their reports, he'd called up a secure number and had more than a few words with the UNIT General.

Lethbridge Stewart had…some how made it to Thames House 10 minutes following their discussion with a set of papers.

A set of papers he'd signed…and been told the story…not all of it…he knew that much…but enough to do his job, he knew it wasn't all of it, Lethbridge Stewart had confirmed it when he'd asked.

Now Tom and Zoe sat in front of him, watching him as he watched the tape with them.

"Sign this." Harry passed them each a folder, it has the words 'Official Secrets Act', followed by 'Amended Articles – Security Services' written in standard type on the front.

The insides revealed nothing, and said not a lot about what would happen if they revealed…in many ways it was worse than the standard articles they signed, these revealed nothing, told nothing…which probably meant you'd disappear very quietly.

"What's this Harry?" Tom asked after he'd read through both, he hadn't signed yet.

Harry looked at Tom.

"This has something to do with…the Palace?"

"Sign them…the world is an ever changing place…and the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce feels that we can play some part in this world." Harry Pearce said slowly.

Zoe looked down at it and signed, as did Tom.

Harry then told them the story he'd been told…it wasn't the truth, not the whole truth…but then, no one told the truth, not in their world…just interpretations of the truth that suited the world they lived in…

_--/_

_Originally all this (the assault on the palace) was a couple of paragraphs…well that's how I imagined it when I sketched the ideas down, but it sort of ballooned outwards, also this whole chapter was part of chapter 20._

_Zoe and Tom are from the first couple of seasons of Spooks (aka MI:5 in the US), I included them…just because it seemed like something they'd be doing. They won't ever be playing any huge parts, but they're interesting characters within MI5 along with Harry Pearce, who may provide intelligence in the background in the future (or I may just make a mention of them)._

_The appearance Mulciber and Dolohov were two of the Death Eaters (one mentioned in my other story Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space) but neither were actually dealt with by Harry (or anyone else…I'm pretty sure anyways). So they're two more Death Eaters named and dealt with here._


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 22**

"_You're on BBC One and this is the news…"_

_The screen dissolved from the spinning world into the BBC Studio in London._

"_Tonight in the news; massacre at popular holiday and historical recreation village of Candlebright a town a short distance outside of Brighton…we go live to the scene…."_

A small village of house lining the streets, a darkened pub and a small general store, the town, not illuminated by lights, in fact it seems the entire town is blacked out.

The picture pans around, but breaks up into static and pixels as it comes to bare on a reporter in a warm jacket.

She looks freezing, despite the fact her hair is flat, in fact there seems to be no wind…

But in the distance…or it could be near her…there is a whistling…it sounds to some like distant screams and to others the frightened whimper of children.

The camera finally stops moving, but it is still shaking as the reporter looks down past the camera, there is something in her eyes…this person had seen death…and she definitely was not a war reporter…but all the war journalists watching this report, be they in Syria, in the safety of their homes or abroad in an unknown location, they knew the look that she had on her face.

It wasn't the loss of innocence, for no one in these dark times was truly innocent…it was more a loss of virginity, of seeing something so…_wrong_ against the normal grain of _usual _existence that they were left scarred for life…this person had witnessed something…truly outside their experience.

The only light on the scene was from the various emergency services scattered around and behind her, there were multiple ambulances that appeared to have come from many townships, police cars scattered around the green and outside houses, fire trucks appeared to have been emptied of their fire retardant chemicals to fight…whatever was burning…though nothing was casting any sort of fire light onto the scene.

"_James…." She said pausing to shiver…either from the none existent cold…or just not a cold from the wind chill. "I…We arrived her at Candlebright shortly after the bulk of the emergency services began arriving…"_

_She paused to cast a glance off camera, the camera man either seeing her pained look, or determined to show the public what was happening panned the camera towards…the scene. Claire McKinlay, the reporter continued. "The scene James…is something that will haunt me…probably forever…almost the town's entire population has been…" She trailed off, there was a sound of someone vomiting off camera, either from the smell or the images that were being relayed to the BBC television centre in London._

The controller inside the television centre made a quick decision, and decided to continue broadcasting, flashing up a quick warning along the bottom of the screen, while he fought not to do the same as his on location weather reporter Claire McKinlay was doing so.

The view of what was in Candlebright toppled anything he had seen over the past 30 years of television, be it images from Vietnam, the Real IRA bombings, Syria, or anything else…this was here…at home…he'd taken his kids to Candlebright…

The 'scene' was of over 80 bodies, strung up by their wrists from some sort of vine…they had all had incisions running from the bottom of their throat down to their crotch, part of his mind recognised the procedure as a vivisection.

Another part heard what Claire had begun to say.

"_We heard…I heard as we arrived…the ambulance and coroners…these people…that you can see…they were vivisected…their organs…ripped out falling before their bodies…the…the worst thing…worse than…they…who ever did this…they did it while they were still alive…"_

The camera turned 180 degrees over to the other side of the town.

"_This isn't the only…'collection'…that's what the police's initial investigation is saying…there are more 'collections' around the town…grouped together in groups…they're all like…like this…I think…I think we might…" _

There was some muttering and the camera was pulled off its tripod as Claire walked briskly…she wasn't running nor was she calmly walking, there was a stuttering to her walk, as though part of her body was trying to cope with what her eyes were seeing.

She walked over to the ambulance where the ambulance officer, who looked like a hardened war officer was swallowing in quick succession.

"_Claire McKinlay…BBC World News…do you know anything more of…what has happened to the victims?" _

He looked blankly to her and the camera before answering.

"_The victims…thus far that we've examined…there are signs of extreme head trauma…all of them…even the children have been subjected to some sort of torture…autopsy should…their bodies were put through extreme pain…it is most likely that there were a large group of attackers…they…they were doing…whatever they were doing as they…vivisected them…"_

The camera shook for a second as the camera man obviously grappled for control.

"_Are there any…any signs of the attackers?"_

"_The police…we just deal with any survivors…."_

"_Are there any of this…massacre?" _Claire McKinlay asked after a moment.

The man looked blankly into the camera.

"_The police said something about it…but…"_ He just shook his head.

Claire nodded and walked back to her original spot…but stopped, almost tripping over as she tried to swallow down the remaining bile in her stomach as she walked along, the smells and the feeling around her…it made her want to run and leave…the run away home and hide in the bathroom away from the world…

It made her want to scream…like something more unnatural than what she was seeing was going on…this was worse than any stupid haunted house or lightning and thunder rainy night…

This was so unnatural her body was crying out for her to leave…but whatever rational part of her mind that was still functioning insisted that she should _try _and stay.

Claire turned and realised Greg her camera man had walked over towards the police, biting her lip hard she tasted blood the pain or the blood on her tongue snapped her out of…whatever she had been in.

"_Commander…what…how…" _Claire stumbled over her words for a second, the police officer didn't seem to notice, he, like the ambulance officer seemed to be on automatic, unable to deal with the amount of death that they were witnessing.

"_We've had word that some survived the attack?"_

He turned and blinked several times at her.

"_Yes…we have spoken to…" _He paused for a moment considering. "_There are some survivors…though at this point we are not considering them witnesses as it appears they were also caught in the…attack…We currently have nothing more the say…at this time." _

He rushed away.

In the studio, James finally found his voice and at the floor manager's prompting asked a question.

"_Claire…are there any signs of these witnesses?"_

There was an overlong pause, she seemed to be staring at something.

"_God…there are so many children…" _She was muttering to herself. "_What? Oh…James…there…not that we can see…all the houses…the whole village is blacked out…that's another thing…as we approached everywhere surrounding the village had power…but here…" _The camera flared again. "_There don't appear to be any survivors that we can locate within the town…we'll keep you apprised through the night…back to you…James."_

Claire finished and nodded to her camera man, she still had that horrible feeling…not just what she had witnessed…but something else…it was only then…now that she had been in the town for so long…that she looked up…and that could explain some of the feeling…she hadn't looked up…there wasn't…she didn't see…she didn't look up…

"Greg get that!"

"_James, anyone get this…" _She shouted down her mic as she head the buzzing of the link back to the studio return.

On the screens of everyone who was watching BBC News late at night, they saw a fuzzy image, an image which the technology recording it was so clearly affected by what it was recording, yet despite this, it still showed it in all its…mind bending horror…something which crept up the spine of Claire and Greg and all the emergency services officers who were working on the scene…it was an image…sketched onto the night sky as though someone had cut it with a vast knife and tattooed an image of a skull with a snake crawling out of it…

It was something so profound, something that chilled the bones of everyone who watched it, the people who saw it in person only had a moment to turn around as they heard 'POP'.

Claire spun around, her nerves already on edge as she spun around…and saw 4 people in long dark…what looked like costumes.

Her mind didn't register it…she knew they were there…every fibre of her being was telling her to run…and yet she had been fighting that instinct all night.

She stared at them for a moment, she was aware that some of the emergency services had left for various morgues around the surrounding towns.

Had she not been staring absorbed in what she was seeing she would have noticed that the people in front of her pull out slim sticks and point them at her and her camera man.

The word one of them said wouldn't have made any sense to her…but to the parents…of children attending Hogwarts, to the squibs watching around the UK, others within the wizarding community who lives as 'muggles' they knew.

"_Studefy! Legillamcy!" _A pause…and while the camera was still pointing towards the sky the sound, both on the camera and on Claire's lapel mic continued to record…and transmit.

"_Oblivate! …'ve got her address…get 'em 'eady for 'ort 'ey…"_

Had the camera been pointing down the viewers, the people within the television centre and everyone else would have seen the pair disappear…as if by magic.

Had this happened during the day every news organisation might have been all over it, but it happened in the early hours of the morning, a fluke that anyone had been in the area.

The next morning the controller of the BBC found that he had fallen asleep on the job…and had fuzzy memories of the night before, as did everyone else in the building, it was only because of a particularly efficient junior employee of the Muggle Relations Department in the Ministry of Magic had anyone thought to send an Oblivator to the BBC television centre…

Unfortunately, the Oblivator was particularly young…and didn't completely hide everyone's memories…and memories have a tendency to reappear…

Just as unfortunately…for those who's memories did seem foggy…when they ventured down into the recent archives for tapes of the previous night…none were to be found…

Fortunately, some people were watching and had already walked in flashing a non-descript military pass at the gates, taking all tapes with them and destroying any other evidence before walking out once more.

--/

"All of it went out?"

"Yes sir…it was all broadcast live…Lt Parkin removed all the evidence that was still in the television centre, while other Night Wolf teams searched out other relay buildings for other back up copies…we think we've got all the broadcast copies."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

Birmingham had for the past 4 days been in London along with a team of Sorcerers and members of the Utilities and Magical Strategy Devices division implanting new security measures at Buckingham Palace, as well as looking into various alternate means of defence against attack for the other royal properties.

Other parts of the Sorcery division were also working with the royals…following their ordeal.

Geneva had…requested they sign the amended articles before any explanation be given…he'd left that part to Birmingham, despite being at the Queen's recoronation there wasn't exactly any easy way to tell her that…they didn't trust them unless the signed a set of papers…to explain something they'd witnessed.

"Very well, all the copies down to research support, have it all put into our systems and analysed, keep all the originals, and get Research to keep an eye on all media over the next week." Lethbridge Stewart ordered, the man in front of him nodded before leaving the room.

Lethbridge Stewart opened the folder before him and read through the initial report, both on Candlebright as a town and what this attack suggested.

_Candlebright; one of the few towns in the United Kingdom, which had a combined semi-aware population of both wand users and of the general population._

_Candlebright it seems has always been a combined population, none of the wand user's houses are hidden from the general population, while initial surveys suggest some minor charms near the very front of the doors, they appear to be simple rodent repulsion charms._

_The town has existed since the end of WWII as a 'historical recreation' town, apparently the town's wand user population taking advantage of their archaic lifestyle and using it to create business for themselves with tourists from nearby Brighton._

_The pub in particular is a joint establishment where both parties of the town mingle together, while it was not apparent in the records or in the initial survey if the town was aware of the wand users actual identity…various news reports suggest that the locals simply think of them as 'back to history' enthusiasts._

_But treat them with respect and care within the community._

_There were no outward signs of wand user prejudice prior to the massacre._

_The massacre from all footage and methods was performed by Voldemort's core group of Death Eaters…._

_Mr Remus Lupin has provided us with a partial list of Death Eaters who have been viewed as active over the past few years, and those who were active during Voldemort's previous uprising._

_Currently we are still creating psychological profiles to ascertain which individuals were responsible for the attacks on Candlebright._

_There were no CCTV systems within Candlebright and reports on town's appearance and spell activity are pending a visit to the site._

Lethbridge Stewart continued to read, looking through the various requests for a team…or two to go and start an analysis on the town, including requests for magical jamming devices and other equipment to perform a full investigation of the town.

Alistair held off on instantly giving full permission, the attacks had happened barely 10 hours ago…it would still most likely be crawling with ministry officials…and probably the wand user's press.

"Reconnaissance…for now…" He muttered to himself as he typed out and signed a reconnaissance order.

_--/_

_I'm just playing with different styles of drama and writing style with this chapter._

_The events described are (mentioned in Chapter 33 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space), but aside from a news article, the actual event wasn't explored._

_Rather than just write what happened, which I felt wouldn't communicate the horror I thought a different take on events would be far more interesting._

_Thanks for reading, I try to respond to all reviewers._


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 23 **

"_Will all passengers and staff please make your way in an orderly fashion to the exits… Will all passengers and staff please make your way in an orderly fashion to the exits…Will all passengers and staff please make your way in an orderly fashion to the exits…"_

The announcement ended with a tone before repeating once more as the last of the passengers were cleared from the largest passenger hubs in the United Kingdom.

Outside police, UNIT-UK troops, British Army plus Fire and Ambulance people were dealing with the mass amounts of passengers that were all coming through Kings Cross Station, Kings Cross, at peak afternoon…when it happened.

**30 Minutes Earlier…**

David Jones, (Colonel) David Jones, newly promoted from Captain with the blessing of all involved during the…incident at Buckingham Palace and the clean up following the event…was in charge of monitoring Kings Cross station, in particular the main, secondary and tertiary entrances, platforms 9 and 10, the barrier which separated the wand user's station known as Platform 9 and 3/4's and also the platform itself.

Night Wolf had been gathering a steady stream of intelligence, from its own sources with teams in the field gathering information, watching and listening for any recent events…or even gossip.

They also had other parts of UNIT-UK on the look out for anything…that didn't quite fit the bill for alien invasions…then there were also their other sources of information, people like Remus Lupin who had been brought into the fold recently, and also Harry Potter…who had recently taken the war firmly with his hands, Jones hadn't been part of the investigation into the explosion at the manor house owned by the Malfoy Estate, but he was satisfied that he'd instructed Harry to an acceptable standard with regards to explosives…the wreckage of the house had been cleaned up and taken away for further study…just in case Night Wolf needed to blow up something of similar scale and of magical content in the future.

"Tiger to Jackal, report status?"

"_Nothing so far Tiger, people have been trickling in, but no solid numbers yet…nothing else to report. Over."_

"Received…" Jones changed the frequency of his radio marginally. "Tiger to Hover Alpha, report."

Following at some speed and some distance above a red train moving fast towards London was a UNIT helicopter designated for this operation Hover Alpha.

The helicopter had been kitted out with various devices allowing it some degree of ability to see inside the train known as the Hogwarts Express.

It had been as much an experiment as a practical opp, while Night Wolf knew where Hogwarts was and were sure in their ability to gain access to Hogsmede station and the town, their knowledge of the Hogwarts Express despite the information provided by those Sorcerers within Night Wolf who had been a part of the wand user's world they still only had basic information pertaining to it.

However, once Hover Alpha was in the sky and flying above the train the high powered infrared cameras and various other methods of surveillance was (more or less) able to see through into the train.

"_Rattler 25 minutes approx inbound…no major disturbances to report."_ Came the slightly noisier voice into Jones's earpiece.

"Received, continue surveillance. Tiger to Hover Beta; take flight to main position."

Sitting on a building not much distance from Kings Cross the pilot started the engines of the large helicopter.

"Received Tiger, over and out."

Colonel Jones nodded to himself, Hover Beta had some air – air weapons on board, just in case the wand users came out in force.

He really hoped it wouldn't come to this level, however, while the new wand user's minister was much more pro-active in dealing with Voldemort, he was also more prone to using…other methods, then 'cleaning up' afterwards, and Jones for one didn't want his mind altered by a person with a wand mucking around in his mind.

**15 Minutes Later**

Following the Hogwarts Express the helicopter designated as _Hover Alpha _dropped its altitude another few meters, the pilot was beginning to worry as he followed the request from the Night Wolf personnel in the rear part of the chopper, they were very close to the top of one of the carriages that they'd zeroed in on as a possible faction of the wand users on the train that could be plotting.

In the rear part of the chopper various people were adjusting the signal from the cameras and scanning equipment that were blasting the carriage below with an array of EM energy, energy they were more or less sure was harmless.

But it was needed, whilst the train and its carriages were more or less _normal _which meant they could fly this close without it affecting the chopper, or requiring them to fly with a magical jamming device on board. The interior of the train was shielded some what…requiring some power to punch through the façade field.

"I think its definitely not a normal school meeting…"

"Can you make out what they're saying Doctor?" The pilot asked from the cockpit as the chopper was buffeted once more from the air slipstream above the train carriages. Briefly he wondered if the wand users could hear the chopper above them. He had watched as various minor charms had been placed on the helicopter before they'd left Night Wolf, but it still needed to look and sound like a helicopter should he need to fly into other areas.

"Play it back again…I'll try and lip read them."

The image wound back, it was a combination of various scanning, infrared and other pieces, giving them a slightly fizzing brightly lit image, however they could make out individual body outlines and facial features, but mouths…

"Ok let me see…the guy is saying to the others 'we're in a ship load…trouble' I think…" There was a set of static as the picture pixelated. "'I think we're in…trouble…' something, something…umm…on of them is saying…maybe asking 'on the station'." He pointed at one of the fuzzing figures on the small screen set into one of the seats. "Now the main one's talking again…uh let me see….'I saw…Snake last night on the which wick fields…talking to a bunch of slept with uns about things…looked happy…not, crab, toil, trees others…"

The other three exchanged a look, even though it was broken up, and through lip reading it did sound as though a meeting had been witnessed, of a plan of an attack, their information had been correct…unfortunately.

"Hang on we're getting to a long conversation…'If Snake is involved then…." He touched the control and winded the recorded back once more. "'Dungle…no…Dumbledore…" That the three others look and stare at him and the picture. "If Snape…yes Snape…he's saying… 'If Snape is involved, then Dumbledore should know because Snape is a spy in the Death Eater ranks, however if there is an attack and Dumbledore knows nothing…'" He trailed off.

"What's the girl saying?" The captain who was commanding the group pointed.

"Just a second…" He wound it back again once more. "She's nodding and asking…no saying…postulating, look at her body language…'That means…that Snape is a spy…just not for Dumbledore….'"

The captain nodded considering this new information.

"I'm calling this one…do you concur?" He asked as he grabbed his radio, the other three Night Wolf personnel nodded.

"_Hover Alpha to Tiger…"_

Jones hit a button and ruffled his newspaper as he looked around.

"Receiving Hover Alpha."

"_Confirmation, attack to begin on platform at arrival of Express."_

"Received, continue to follow, continue scanning of train, attempt to penetrate barrier's field with equipment but do not breach field with the chopper, who knows what would happen if you flew in."

There was a slight chuckle.

"_Received Tiger, out."_

Jones thought for a second as he readjusted his radio, he looked at his radio, the train was 8 minutes away, it would take most of that to evac the station.

"Parkin. Begin evac procedures on the station, bring in all services, prepare for wide scale attack originating from platforms nine and ten."

"_Received…emergency services on route from standby positions…"_

Jones looked up as a tone sounded, he dumped the newspaper he was holding.

"_Will all passengers and staff please make your way in an orderly fashion to the exits…"_

Jones looked around, while there was some degree of panic, and considering it was late afternoon there was a large flow of people around him, but it wasn't…as frenzied as he had worried it would be…but then with the Real IRA around, plus Voldemort's own brand of terrorism, the public was much more subdued, and ready to inconvenience themselves to save potentially their lives and that of their peers.

"_Jackal to Tiger, they've…oh my…it's a full attack repeat…." _There was a flare of static... "_…read…-----me…--ger….am falling back….it's a fully fledged battle here…"_

Jones nodded to himself throwing off his coat, under it he was wearing a fully kitted out Night Wolf tactical vest, along with a S/K-1, and also a silenced set of pistols on his belt.

"Stealth team to barrier entrance, Parkin take over liaison of squad."

There were a series of acknowledgements as he walked calmly towards the barrier through the remaining people on the station.

Jones had specific orders, had it come to this; he and a stealth team were to engage any hostiles…however they had to do it under stealth conditions; silenced pistols, or use of S/K-1. They would assist in getting any non-wand'rs out of the battle space, and remove any hostiles from Voldemort's faction.

Jones was met at the entrance to the barrier by two other people, they both wore a thin mask over the face, a cap and sunglasses on, Jones pulled out of a pocket similar attire and quickly pulled it on.

"Everything ready?"

"Yes sir."

"Good..,, let's get invisible then."

The other two Night Wolf people nodded and removed the activation pads and crystals from their tactical vests, slapping them into position, they turned around and put similar pads into position on each other's backs.

Jones sniffed the air around him and smelt a slightly acidic dull tang around him, a sure sign that the invisibility was taking affect, he pulled the two pieces of deep purple-black crystal and muttered the incantation, that was going to be written on the package, however the system had only recently been approved by Night Wolf for large scale battle deployment.

Jones felt the air around him ripple slightly and the two others that made up his team rippled slightly becoming slightly opaque.

"We all covered?" Jones asked, patting his sides for his weapons, double checking for everything.

"Yes sir." They acknowledged.

"Good, once we get in, remember, Jackal is in there…and probably Harry Potter."

"That's good isn't sir…he's a good shot…"

"Yeah, but we're invisible to everyone Nick."

"Come on." Jones muttered and braced himself, thinking clearly about the station on the other side of the brick wall, he and his small stealth team had done plenty of intrusion training, part of the inability to enter was a psychosomatic response which forced you out, rather than any actual wand user barrier…of course it wasn't just that, there was also a physical barrier to keep wanderers out of their own personal world.

But if you pushed just the right way and stayed the course….it was…

Then he was through.

Jones could smell it, the smell of burning flesh and hear the cries of someone under the torture curse.

It was a fully fledged battle, it wasn't the scale and intensity of a warzone, but it was close…there were also three 'guards' standing just in front of them, in front of the barrier between this platform and the regular one, which went some distance to explain why everyone, all the parents and the children _not _fighting or incapacitated hadn't made their way to the barrier.

Jones looked to his fellows and nodded, withdrawing their pistols they each put a bullet into the brain stem of the guards who were picking anyone off with whatever curse came to mind.

Had someone been watching they would have seen the three guards, who had been chosen specifically because they were inept at powerful offensive curses crumple to the ground, without a shot fired; either from someone holding a wand…or Harry Potter 'the-boy-who-lived' who had at that moment reappeared on the station in a swirl of wind, wings petruding from his back.

Jones motioned to his the two others to begin moving people through the barrier, he would locate Jackie, for a moment as he moved through the crowd of both spell affected bodies, and deceased bodies he took a moment of satisfaction that Harry had learnt a lot, in a very short amount of time from his time with Night Wolf pretty much a year ago.

A person, almost a man moved through the crowd, the wand using world knew him by the designation 'the boy who lived', he hated the term, preferring his name; Harry Potter, he moved through the crowded station as shots from wands were fired left and right around him. He released the spent magazine from a pistol and slammed in a new one aiming for the Death Eaters that were around, killing most of them, but some that were too close to crowded people he took careful aim, wounding them (sometimes mortally) but distracting them enough to stop their torture (or killing) of the innocent Hogwarts students and parents that had been waiting on the platform.

Jones bent down, well aware there were still spells being fired downwards at the people who were trying to keep down away and out of the firing line of bullets, spells and general insults that were being flung around the station.

"Quick, get up, the barrier is clear…" He whispered to family who were crouched, the mother and a younger sibling had their father holding strips of material against what appeared to be on-going affects of a deflected cutting curse, which had unfortunately for them delfected onto their soldiers.

"Where are you?" The man looked around wildly trying to get up.

"Stay down!" Jones barked in a stage whisper as he upholstered his gun and put 2 bullets each into two white masked death eaters who approached their position firing random spells, none of which were particularly fatal, not unless their were very lucky, or a very good aim.

"I'm…" Jones quickly tried to think of what was the exact name for invisible in the wand user's terminology. "I'm invisible…get through the barrier, there's people on the other side to help."

They looked to where his voice came from doubting before looking to two children both appeared to be younger than Harry though still older than 1st form.

"But we're muggles…I can't undo the spell damage…we'd need to go to the hospital wing…or St Mungos…" He whispered fingering his wand and looking to his parents worriedly.

Jones smiled helpfully, despite the fact he was invisible.

"There are people who can help outside the barrier, trust me…and go…I'll cover you make sure you're okay." He rested a hand on the father's shoulder, he twitched under his hand.

"Go!" Jones ordered and stood, taking down and wounding another approaching set of Death Eaters, they crashed to the ground of the station as his bullets shattered their kneecaps, their cries of pain were cut out as someone the other side of the battle aimed a pair of stunners at them.

Jones took one further look at the family before moving to the last reported position of Jackie codename 'Jackal' was a brilliant covert opps Night Wolf member, she was probably, Jones thought with a smile still cataloguing events in her mind for a later report.

Jones made his way through the thinning crowd which was slowly making its way toward the cleared barrier, he could make out the two other Night Wolf team moving through the crowd urging them forwards while incapacitating or killing various death eaters, they and indeed Jones was using bullets rather than their S/K-1, there were a lot of spells around, but not enough for them to miss them if they let off their energy weapons, they wand users had enough intelligence to trace the energy line back to an invisible person.

The bullet were at least relatively invisible, that is until they hit.

Jones rounded a pylon and found two guards standing over an unconscious Jackal.

"…did Snape say why we should watch this muggle?" One asked the other.

"It's a wold, and a muggle, maybe he wants her for some fun…Snape's weird like that."

"You think, spending all that time working for Dumbledore…I wouldn't mind some fun."

"With a wolf? And it's a muggle." He spat.

Those were the last words either or them spoke as their brain matter shot out the back of their heads and they crumpled to the ground.

Jones grabbed at his tactical jacket for a small bottle, it was more or less a modified bottle of smelling oils, but a the stuff in the bottle had been cooked up (probably literally) by the people within the Sorcery Division.

Holding it carefully under her nose for a moment she jerked and then rose, grabbing for her weapon by her side.

"Jones." She said as she rose to a crouch, it wasn't a statement, although she couldn't actually see him.

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess, plus I rescued on the last opp we worked on, only fair you rescue me." She said looking around. "A mess."

Jones nodded.

"Can you get out under stealth?" Jones asked as he rechecked weapons and shot off 3 rounds at an approaching trio of death eaters who'd obviously seen them, they weren't kill shots and as they hit the deck they made loud pops and disappeared.

Jones looked around and saw Nick making a motion at him from a fair way down the station, it was a code that they worked to.

He was indicating that more wand users had arrived, that weren't death eaters.

Which was actually acutely worse.

"I saw." Jackie said.

"Probably Dumbledore's possie." Jones said.

"I'll get out…I've got some concealment powder with me, you get the last people around, there's some of them incapacitated by and under the benches." She said as she gazed around slowly.

Jones nodded and walked quickly off.

As he approached the station it was worse than he suspected, not just Dumbledore's posse but Dumbledore himself in what could be described loosely as a conversation with Harry, who looked quite a bit worse for wear, he had multiple curse wounds, his wings were drooping around him and appeared to have been punched in the face numerous times, most likely a bludgeoning curse.

Jones wanted to help, but it was something Harry needed to work through himself, plus he had orders not to interfere in anything here _directly _meaning he couldn't show himself, but it seemed that Harry had everything in hand.

Jones could just about hear the conversation that was going on.

"…and what about the spy within your midst Dumbledore? What about him?" Harry almost spat, though Jones couldn't tell if he was spitting in disgust or spitting blood, literally. Harry sounded like he may have broken a rib or three.

Jones leaned down carefully waving the bottle of wake up stuff under the noses of the bodies on the ground, they were all thankfully alive and being ignored by everyone as Harry and Dumbledore…had a conversation.

"This would not have happened Harry…"

"If what? If you hadn't told Snape, trusted him with everything and then told McGonagall that you weren't going to come because _you trusted him!_" Harry coughed and spat onto the station.

"Harry…" Dumbledore said gently as though trying to console a small boy. Jones helped up two younger children towards their parents, all four were bleeding from chest wounds, nothing fatal…probably.

"Everyone has been moved to either St Mungos or Hogwarts. Remus, Draco Nocturnis, Hermione Granger and her parents are the only ones missing." Dumbledore said firmly as if scolding a boy.

Jones let out a snort, as if Dumbledore had moved everyone to safety, it was likely that his posse had moved those standing and fighting, but those people that were unable to, or just too scared to do anything but try and keep their siblings and parents alive…and Dumbledore was just calmly patronising Harry.

Jones felt for Harry when he stunned Dumbldore, flinging him up against a pole.

Jones carefully looked around the station aside from the bodies he couldn't see anyone still alive.

Jones moved toward the barrier.

"They're all through, these are the last lot." Said a large shimmer.

"Didn't think you had enough for a group."

Jackie patted the people on the back.

"Get through there'll be people to help you."

"With those two going at it, I thought discretion would be best."

She jabbed a thumb towards Dumbledore, Jones turned and watched Harry kneel down, she could hear Harry's parting words, though Jones she thought might not…

"Good people were hurt and died here today, you are in part responsible for that, for not keeping the students safe, for not using the Order, which you claim is to keep 'us' safe. You're finished Dumbledore." Harry disappeared a rustling of leaves the only thing indicating he had left.

"That's our cue." Jones muttered, Jackie nodded and passed through the barrier.

Jones did one more visual sweep of the now quite silent, except for the still hissing steam train. There didn't appear to be anyone on the ground alive.

Outside the barrier there were people everywhere, being treated by ambulance officers and Night Wolf personnel, those that couldn't be helped by the ambulance officers were helped by the field medics from Night Wolf and the various people who had been brought in.

"Jones to Hover Beta, report."

"_Scout team approached station one-zero minutes ago sir, destroyed targets, clean up team is removing wreckage. No other targets in range, holding position."_

"Received, continue to hold position in case of further assaults." Jones paused. "Hover Alpha, return to base."

"_Received, out."_

Jones walked out into the station and grabbed a field medics kit and moved around the wounded prepping the worst to be moved to a UNIT London facility, rather than the hospital, at UNIT they could more easily bring in alternate treatments, rather than having to duck around security cameras and probably the clumsy and invasive Ministry for Magic, or worst Dumbledore and his posse.

It was only as he looked down at his hands as he prepared to pull on gloves that he realized how much blood he had, and that it was if he heard correctly; Dumbledore, Snape and obviously Voldemort that had caused this…

The latter was obvious from the get go, but the former…it was yet another on the list of Dumbledore's…actions…or inactions that had lead to the pain, suffering and death of people.

_--/_

_This chapter was hard to get started, quite hard finding the right sort of tone._

_It started as a sort of 'moving around in time' sort of chapter like chapter 20, but I didn't want to do it for the whole chapter, it did help me start the scene though._

_Everything on platform 9 and 3/4 is a new view and a re-extrapolation of what happened in chapter 36 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space._

_I have tried to include more of Harry Potter action while still keeping everything fresh and new. _

_Harry will be more prominent in some upcoming chapters (hopefully)._


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 24 – Ablaze; the sea of fire set upon the world**

The fire had started…no one knew, there was a centre of the blaze and it had radiated outwards in circle…but there were also analysts in the fire services that said it _had _to be directed…some how.

The blaze had been burning for 4 days straight until it was brought to UNIT and then Night Wolf's attention, they had after all been busy…

The survivors of the attack on 9 and 3/4 were slowly being moved from UNIT London's primary facility, either home or to regular hospitals since having their more esoteric injuries seen to by 'specialists' brought in to treat UNIT's patients.

The patients had been free to leave…however some of the wand users couldn't help but notice that they were unable to cast even a simple illumination charm whilst inside the building where they were being treated.

They failed to notice the devices on tripods that were in each corner of the room and in some cases in the middle of the large rooms where they were being…held for treatment.

UNIT had no intentions of holding them against their will…but Night Wolf had other problems thus the job of 'monitoring' the patients was delegated to regular UNIT personnel under Brigadier Bambera's command.

Colonel Jones swung himself down from the cab of the large troop carrier as it came to a halt in front of…a wall of flame.

It was an impressive and worrying sight, this wall of flame…the fire services were still trying in vain to fight it as they had been for the past 5 days.

It had already many areas of outlying Northampton if it continued at this speed and this ferocity it could take out Luton.

A man ran over to the him and the truck, it was one of the UNIT trucks which left no questions about it, with a large UNIT logo on the side, proclaiming who they were.

"UNIT…if anyone can help us…" The fire chief said.

"Parkin?" Jones turned as Lt Parkin came up to him.

"Sir got everyone out…should we…"

"Standard search pattern…take down anyone who might be controlling this." She nodded running back to the back of the truck where a set of canisters were being unloaded.

"Colonel…?" The fire chief turned as he heard another noise, two UNIT what appeared to be fire trucks drove past them up close to the fire. They weren't actually fire trucks, more; bio-hazard trucks, but they had large tanks filled with a concoction of water and several other things thrown together by the Sorcery Department which was currently in force dealing with the effects of the ash from this blaze…the ash appeared to have an affect on buildings and people; destroying the building, making them crumble away, the ash in significant qualities dehydrated the body until death.

Jones and his men and women of his team had been assured that it would protect them…except it was untested, their batch even more so.

"They can't…" The fire chief was saying as the UNIT troops reeled out their hoses and begin dousing the flames; one truck had an orange foam the other a blue tinged water.

It didn't seem to be having much affect, but slowly the wall of flames seemed to be changing…into more of a bent wall.

"That's all very well and good what about my men…"

Jones looked over to the fleet of trucks and smiled.

"Your lucky day chief, back of my truck; an additive…will probably work, instructions on the canisters…be careful with it…"

The fire chief was already barking instructions at the top of his lungs.

Jones cast a gaze upwards at the sky, it was dark despite the fact that it was 11 am, the sun was struggling to shine through the smoke and ash in the air.

He and his team, which had been significantly enlarged for this operation were searching the area, they suspected that their had to be a wand user, and most likely more than one maintaining and directing the blaze.

They'd been briefed, however getting people on the ground with so much of Night Wolf battling different elements of this blaze…plus the after affects of 9 and 3/4's, then there was the assault on Cardiff castle, a seemingly pointless attack…were it not for the bones of a large dragon they found in the courtyard.

Jones shook his head and turned as he heard gun fire…and saw wand fire.

Jones motioned to the two others on his side and took off at a run.

Jones, Jackie and Sam threw themselves behind a car, they could just about see two other Night Wolf troops firing and taking cover around a post box.

"Covering fire!" Jones yelled out as Same, Jackie and himself took off towards the other two, flicking the safety off he started firing in the general direction of the spells.

The two troops under fire made their way crouched backwards as bright green, red and various other colour spells were shot from.

As they made their way to the group they all formed up, continuing to fire, all 5 of them walking slowly towards the house where the two wand users were.

The sound of the fires was drowned out by the sound of 5 P90s being shot off in a suburban area at an unknown wand hostiles.

When they finally made their way into the entrance hall of the house they located three bodies two men and one woman, all in black cloaks, though devoid of the white masks that they were used to seeing in Voldemort's forced.

Jones crouched down tucking a small red tag onto each of the bodies, the tags contained small radio tags that would be used later when a UNIT clean up team arrived on the scene.

"Sir…what about their wands?" Jackie nodded.

"Snap them. Clean up will deal with the mess."

"Sir."

There was a buzz in the air as the wands were snapped, almost like static electricity but it subsided.

Outside they continued their search for others, it wasn't until about 10 minutes into their search that Jones received a radio signal from the UNIT troops manning the blaze.

"Repeat…under heavy attack from wand'rs…using some sort of heat…fire…bullets hardly getting through…."

"Jones to all teams, converge on fire fighting point, switch to S/K-1s."

Jones arrived on the scene to see…a dragon.

That wasn't all, there were death eaters around it, and at least two atop controlling it, through the smoke he could see the seemed to have something on the skull of the dragon.

The death eaters were firing off spells, some were shooting jets of flame from their wands around at anything that wasn't already alight.

Jones was briefly glad that the fire chief and the fleet of fire fighters were too concerned with the battle behind him, rather than the dragon in front of him.

"Take any cover you can, take them down!"

"The dragon too?" Someone called.

"Yes the frigging dragon too!" Jones shouted out.

Green energy shot out from more than 15 different points at the encroaching death eaters who were laughing and celebrating as they approached the 'stupid muggles, trying to fight a wizard's fire'.

They were…perhaps not surprise, shocked when two of their group collapsed as a bright green light hit them.

Despite the roar of the fire they had heard no one utter the killing curse.

"Dumbledore's order must be here." One death eater yelled from atop the dragon as he concentrated on another Cruciatus curse on the dragon bone that his master had affixed to the brain of the dragon he was atop…it allowed them control of the dragon. While its flames were lethal it wasn't the main cause of the blaze…but his master had _insisted _they use it as it was more efficient than them…

The fire chief turned back to see what was making such a racket…a racket above the roar of the fire that his men and the two UNIT trucks were slowly pushing back.

What he saw…he couldn't fathom…it was…a dragon, with men atop it.

The UNIT guys were hiding behind various bits of…whatever firing…something at the attackers…and the dragon…it was like some science fiction movie he's seen with his kids.

"Sam what have we got in the truck?" Jones said as he tried to aim through the haze of smoke, fire, spells…and the fire that the dragon was spitting everywhere.

"We had to pull a lot of the stuff from it to fit the fire fighting gear."

They were holding a position just in front of the back of their troop carrier, the death eaters…despite their losses still had more people…they could have been apparating in more people to hold up their fight.

"You, Steve and Williams grab everything that's in there, we're falling back…" The Jones added "And prepare to blow the fuel tanks."

Sam Parkin raised an eyebrow at him.  
"Sir with all due respect…we're in between the biggest blaze…since…I dunno, and you want to blow up the however many gallons of diesel in our truck?"

"Get on it Sam…we're running out of space to manoeuvre." Jones grabbed at his radio, but all he got was intermittent bursts of static, with the spells and the heat both from the fire and the dragon he was glad he wasn't wearing anything that could melt.

"Everyone…fall back!" He shouted as Steve, Williams and Sam rushed past him, carrying several cases and various other pieces of equipment, as Jones and the rest of the tem were walking steadily backwards, Parkin ran back towards the truck.

"Parkin!" She came back a small back pack on her back.

"Sorry Sir, extra rounds, grenades and a back up radio…thought before you blew up the truck…sir."

"Good…very good…put everything somewhere…Jones was already going threw his pockets and withdrew a small slab of what most would assume was clay…if it were not for the large letters emblazoned on the side which read 'C4 Explosive'.

Jones looked around at the blackened buildings, the advancing death eaters…and the dragon and his team which were falling back, as he'd ordered around him.

Pressing the time into the C4 he shrugged to himself and chucked it close to the troop carrier.

"Let's finish off Dumbledore's group…then the muggles."

The lead death eater in charge of the main assault on the muggle and mudbloods houses yelled for them to charge.

The dragon and their riders lumbered forwards, but not as fast as the death eaters leading the charge.

When the C4 went off, and took the truck, the diesel it took much of the first wave of death eaters were incinerated…

Unfortunately for the UNIT troops it didn't take out the main force of death eaters, but did provide for a challenge.

"Now we're really between a rock and a hard place." Parkin said before adding "Sir."

"What the blood hell do you think you're doing Colonel, trying to make our lives harder?" The chief came over during what could be considered a brief respite from the battle.

"Look chief…that fire…is just that…it'll give us 5 maybe 10 minutes breathing space. But it's just fire, not like that _fire_." Jones jabbed his thumb at the wall, now more of a fence of fire that was still roaring around them.

"Get back to your fire and I'll try and keep all of us alive."

"Without killing us all with any bright ideas I hope." The fire chief muttered before heading back to his truck monitoring the water from the hydrant and is mix with the stuff the UNIT troops had brought.

Jones walked back to his team.

"Right what weapons have we got?"

"6 ATRs, 2 bazookas, a couple of shot guns, and a case of grenades." Williams said in a rough Northern accent.

"Divvy up the ATRs, bazookas and grenades…go for a joint assault and take down the dragon…then we can deal with the death eaters on more even footing." Jones glanced back at the fire from the truck, it appeared to be being doused at the sides by something…or someone.

"Can we take down a dragon? Sir." Someone from the back of the group asked sceptically.

Jones looked back.

"We haven't got any choice…from what I remember they're impervious to a lot of wand user spells."

"Which raised the question of how they're controlling it." Jackie said.

"A ponderance for a time when it isn't trying to kill us perhaps." Williams muttered.

"Good…form up, everyone try to take down the death eaters that come through, we'll use all the grenades for the dragon."

Jones crouched behind a still steaming piece of masonry they were though inside the burn line, Jones looked around, the fire trucks were moving slowly forming a V pattering beating back the flames.

The heat both before and behind him was still intense like being blasted by a furnace from his front and back.

"They're moving!" Someone cried out, and indeed they were, the diesel and whatever else that was fuelling the remains of the fire was being dampened, steam rising from around the blast radius, much quicker than it should have in 'normal' condition, not that UNIT ever dealt with normal conditions.

"Wait for a target!" Jones shouted, while they could in theory start firing blindly through the smoke haze and spot fires, it would be best not to alert them that they were still alive, and had weapons.

Then the death eaters started to move through the gap made by whatever spell was dampening UNIT's own fire.

"Fire!" Jones shouted out. "Take em down!"

Green light shot from various places where Night Wolf troops took cover from the barrage of spells that were flung back towards them.

Reds, Greens, Gold, Yellows, varying shades of primary colours shot back, sometimes missing, sometimes impacting on the pieces of cover.

Jones forced himself not to jump up and run when he heard a shout from one of his team, it was just a flesh wound…he knew the screams of torture and the cries of death…

Jones didn't know how long they had been firing at the death eaters, his finger was almost twitching on its own hitting the trigger on and on taking aim at what seemed to be an endless supply of death eaters.

Many of them were more spry than most, ducking and weaving, some of their shielding spells even diluted their weapon's effect, it took sometimes 2 or 32 shots to take one down.

Or it could be the residual magic in the air in the form of ash and dust thrown up by the fires raging, Jones thought with a glance behind some distance away.

Jones was pulled back into reality, not that he wasn't concentrating on the battle, just his focus was momentarily drawn, making sure a pair of death eaters stayed down and dead, they had been irritating him for the past…Jones wasn't sure how long as he shifted his crouch to the other knee pressing himself closer against what remained of an oak tree, it's stump that all remained of what would have been a large old tree, his cover of the masonry abandoned some time ago.

Jones stared as the dragon lumbered into the kill zone, Jones's mind flared for a second at the size of it, before snapping back into place.

"All teams ready!" Jones paused holstering his weapon and grabbing for the grenades around his person. "Fire in 3, 2, 1!" Jones screamed out and lobbed his grenades.

Around him the rest of his team, injured and not lobbed their assortment of explosives, there were thumps and flashes as ATRs and bazookas launched their payload at the lumbering dragon before them.

Jones grabbed at his tactical vest and found another 2 grenades.

"Every little bit…" He muttered to himself and lobbed them as well as the first set were exploding around the foot of the dragon.

It's roar was…it was outside any normal person's experience, despite working for Night Wolf, despite seeing alien worlds, despite working and helping to defend a space ship, the roar of anger that the dragon before him was something else.

The death eaters that had been around the dragon, taking cover from Night Wolf's own assault had been wiped out, now there was only the dragon, which was lumbering in a daze, still roaring and some death eaters left on the periphery.

"Close in assault!" Jones shouted around to the teams. "Covering fire." He shouted to those injured though still trying to rise up to assist.

Jones and the many still standing moved closer to the death eaters firing off salvos of killing energy towards them as they tried to shout out Avada Kedavra at them, though many were resorting to shorter less complicated spells or looking around for orders.

Jones saw rather than heard some of them simply disappear.

Then there was just the dragon.

"Everyone open fire on the…" Jones ducked and rolled as a plume of fire leapt out at him, he rolled out of the way, but not before it caught him and two others on fire, he rolled along the wet sandy soil attempting to put the flames out, he could feel the flames, the hot liquid of them eating through his protective clothing as he rolled covering himself more so in the wet soil dousing the fire.

Jones rolled into a crouch hoping that the cool feeling was the water and not the assault on his senses as the flames licked at his nerves, he grabbed at his weapon and joined the shots of green that were being shot from different points, both at the dragon and the riders who were trying to stay on top of the dragon as they attacked.

Time seemed to flow from one minute to another, Jones felt the grip of his gun get warm as he continued to repetitively squeeze and fire his weapon at the large winged beast.

Jones wasn't sure how long he had been firing at the dragon, his hearing was drowned out by the steam train roar of the fire even though it was at least 1km away and the dragon's continued roars and movements.

Then, Jones wasn't sure when the dragon collapsed and he was being helped up by someone.

"Sir?"

"Williams…" Jones croaked and grabbed for his hydration straw, nothing came out, Jones felt at his back, that must have been the cool feeling. He looked down at the twitching dragon.

"Williams, you and…" Jones looked around and called out. "Jackie, go grab from the fire guys, or the UNIT trucks half a dozen fire axes."

"Fire axes…sir?" Williams regarded him questioningly.

"I want its head severed…it doesn't look dead and the last thing we need is a severely pissed dragon."

"Sir."

_**--// **_

It was several days later, Jones had been ordered to take a few days off after inhaling soot, smoke…and whatever the dragon spat out. Plus he'd also rolled around in the remnants of the fire, the additives to the water and who knew what else, despite the Sorcery Division's assurances that the additive _probably_ wasn't anything to worry about.

He was currently in the Brigadier's office discussing the events, he'd given the Brigadier his report, but judging by the pile of reports, briefs and requests that littered the Brigadier's desk, Jones suspected that the Brigadier preferred to have these one on one chats to discuss what happened rather than read it on a piece of paper.

"When we had made it to the original ignition point sir…it was…" Jones shook his head and leaned forward and opened the the mission photos that he'd taken after the arrival of the second UNIT fire control truck which had brought a larger supply of the additive for the fire services that were on sight assisting them.

When they'd eventually made it to the ignition point of the fire…they found…

There were five people on standing perfectly still, what had been houses had burnt away from them, but they had been screaming.

Jones hadn't realised it from all the noise…but then they couldn't put them out…

Jones flicked over the photos showing the Brigadier them, their flesh charred their bodies broken…but their eyes stared out in anguish.

"I gave the order to…to put them out of their suffering sir…" Jones swallowed a mouthful of his drink.

The Brigadier nodded. "There was nothing you could have done David."

Jones nodded.

"When each of them were shot the fire around them stopped burning…and the what was left of the fires outside died back to a less intense…" He let out a racking cough. "…more manageable fire."

The Brigadier nodded slowly and leaned back in his chair.

Jones reach forward taking his report again and flipped through to another set of photos, taken later in that day when the smoke had cleared some what due to a northerly breeze.

It was a photo from a helicopter surveying the damage.

"When I was looking for something…their were five people…out initial search suggests that they were wand users…"

"But…?" The Brigadier supplied.

"Five sir…when you draw a line between them…"

Jones showed the Brigadier another photo where he'd drawn a line between the people who had been burned alive…

"A pentagram…" The Brigadier rose from his chair pouring himself and Jones another drink. "One of the victims was from the Order of the Phoenix." Lethbridge Stewart said as he sat back down and tapped a keyboard in front of him, changing the display to the side of his desk on the wall.

It showed the damaged area.

"It was all under surveillance."

"Of course, Jones. Watch."

There was a slight flare on the screen and then there were two people standing in amongst the detritus.

"I had the clean up crew leave the bodies…just in case."

"Sorry sir." Jones added…when the clean up crew had arrived he'd ordered them to get the death eater bodies and then get the bodies…carefully from the houses, then he'd gone to look after the wounded of his team.

"You were following protocol Jones…"

"Isn't the order Dumbledore's gang?"

"It appears so, Harry mentioned something about dealing with Dumbledore…"

Jones nodded watching the screen as a camera zoomed into the two people.

Jones stared at the taller of the men, he was wearing tough hide of some sort, and was massively scarred.

"What…?" Jones muttered as the man drew his wand and muttered a spell, along the bottom of the screen a word came up _Incendio._

Then the picture went blank.

"Sir?"

"Birmingham suggested we place various cameras, including in all of the houses. Linguistics has just finished going over their lip patterns, Birmingham thought they might pick up a mic if we placed it."

Jones just nodded as he watched the screen flick to another point of view, and another as the two men made their way around the houses, their conversation was minor at most, it wasn't until they reached house 3 that he'd listed on his report, though it was the last for them, then the subtitles picked up into something more interesting.

_Well Moody, what do you think? Scurgify. (???) mutters_

_What do I think Kingsley? It's Vance._

_Emmeline, how can you be sure?_

The screen flared once more switching to a higher point of view.

_You're the active auror not me Kingsley._

_The heat must have been intense…do you know how she died?_

_Muggle weapons. suggestion; man known as 'Moody' spits/comments in disgust._

_The order said Harry was using weapons like that at the station. man known as 'Kingsley', statement is curious and doubting._

_Yes… man; Moody trails off muttering to himself._

_Moody?_

_Do you know the term euthanasia Kingsley? man; Moody – suggestive of query / rhetorical question._

_A muggle term for killing someone._

_Someone in incurable pain._

_But they…we could have._

_You aurors, shouldn't have let the fire get this far! man; Moody shouting._

_But sir…that doesn't excuse…had they…we couldn't even get through the fire…all means failed…_

_Then…? man; Moody – query to Kingsley_

_Then how did the muggles get here?_

_Yes…and when they did, they probably did the only thing they could for Emmeline…would you have had the courage to do the same?_

Jones watched the man; Moody look around what used to be the room before reaching under the rubble and pulling out a small blackened glass plant, like a rose.

_Emergency portkey? man; Kingsley asks_

_I've seen enough, do you have the names?_

_I'll need to check with the department in the Ministry…some of them were in muggle areas…_

_So?_

_Yes sir._

There was a camera flare and they disappeared.

Jones leaned back into his chair.

"Was there any further action sir?"

"The man, Kingsley returned yesterday. With two others, the clean up crew had been through, they departed after a quick reccy. They didn't find anything."

Jones nodded again.

"What about the dragon?" Jones asked changing subjects smoothly.

"Sorcery is going over it with a fine eye, they're saying its an excellent specimen, despite the battle damage…and the severing of its head."

"Sorry…sir…just wasn't sure how to kill it."

Lethbridge Stewart chuckled.

"Nothing to apologise about Jones, I'd much rather had a dead and decapitated dragon than one flying around London under the control of Voldemort."

"Have they got any idea _how_ they managed that?"

Lethbridge Stewart shook his head.

"They're still carving it up, we haven't got a storage locker large enough to store it all in one piece…you did a good job with it, they said you're more than welcome to assist them Jones." The Brigadier said with a chuckle.

"I think I'll take those few more hours off sir…"

"Very wise Jones…I'm having the whole workspace cleaned from top to bottom…who'd have thought dead dragon would have such a pungent smell.."

'Who'd have thought?" Jones thought with a chuckle to himself.

--//

_This chapter I wrote whilst thinking about the Victorian bush fires which have been burning for the last 50 days or so, hence the theme of fire in this chapter._

_There is also a link to Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space with the death of Emmeline Vance, mentioned in chapter 39, however this happens before ch39 as in that chapter these events are spoken in retrospect._

_There was going to be an extra scene, which never existed further than a few sketched out ideas, but it was going to involve a ship transmatting up treated water and then back down over the hot spots of the fire._

_There was going to be some crew making jokes about Star Trek and whales amongst other things._

_However, after thinking for a while about how various bits of technology work and other things I felt it worked better with the fire being fought on the ground, by people._

_Thanks for reading, I will most likely try to respond to all reviewers._


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 25**

General Alistair Lethbridge Stewart leaned back into his chair and stared at the reports, reports both on the computer screen in front of him and in paper form which were cluttering up his desk.

The clean up of the Northampton fire was progressing, however it was a slow to difficult process.

He'd had to place two teams on rotation in and around the area, stunning and removing any of the 'Ministry for Magic' wand users who kept appearing on the site with what seemed as the primary reason for being there to wipe anyone's memory of being on the site.

As an experiment one of the team leaders with his approval had cleared out the site and left the wander's to their business, but it lead to nothing.

That was early last week, now they just stunned the pairs or groups of wand users and moved them to the local train station.

Lethbridge Stewart was considering placing magical jammers on the site, however the report from the Sorcery department said otherwise…

_Due to high concentrations of magic, both from the wand user's spells on the fire and the magic used by the death eaters during the confrontation, setting up an effective magical jamming field would be close to impossible._

_There is however not enough ambient wand user based magic to disrupt any normal device and in theory the ambient magic will fade in time._

_Note, further study of biological samples and fire damaged materials is required to determine exact amount of time till ambient magic has dropped to previous levels._

Even if it was possible, Night Wolf didn't have enough magical jammers to spare to keep out the Ministry for Magic's employees.

Night Wolf and UNIT continued to maintain an operations centre at the Northampton site as the clean up progressed, but Lethbridge Stewart had to conceded that the teams could be used elsewhere, however, the site was still drawing the occasional supporter of Voldemort, Birmingham had suggested they thought of it as a spectacle, something the rest of London couldn't ignore, a show of power.

Those that had come to look at their 'show of power against the stupid muggles' as one of them had said now occupied a space in Night Wolf's morgue.

Lethbridge Stewart picked up _one _of the most recent reports, the truth be known he had dozens of reports despite the various departments submitting to their own heads of department before only the most pressing came to him.

It was like, Alistair reflected fighting the Autons, or the Cybermen, or the Martians on a daily basis all the time…he let himself smile…he enjoyed his work, despite the paper work, despite everything, he still enjoyed it…and he enjoyed even more being able to hand to reigns over to Birmingham for a day and a night so he could go home, have dinner with Doris, watch the stars come out and guess which ship was orbiting over their house.

Alistair looked up from the report, which he hadn't begun to read as there was a knock on the door, he set the report back down.

"Come." Lethbridge Stewart smiled lightly as one of the most determined, laid back and mildly sarcastic people walked casually into the room, then he glanced back down at the report, it was a report of an attack on an old family estate, it suggested a link with another old family estate a few weeks ago.

"Hey Brig…" Alistair looked at him, Harry glanced back trying to gage his expression.

"Been busy Harry?" Alistair held up the police report for the first attack, the crime scene photo showed the remains of a large family estate, the words _traces of high military grade explosives found in the grounds and rubble_, were some that had been highlighted by the research department.

Alistair put it down and started to read, gazing up to look at Harry every so often.

"'A powerful explosion destroyed the large manor house…bodies were recovered however they were later stolen…forensics indicated that there may have been some sort of celebration taking part inside the manor house. Artefacts discovered below the mansion suggest that it was a stronghold for terrorists or drug runners…' Well Harry?" Alistair watched as Harry sighed and visibly slumped into the chair.

"Have you heard about the village a while ago just before that, where a whole lot of people were vivisected?"

Alistair nodded, of course he knew, he probably knew more than Harry did, probably more than Harry would want to know.

"The people that did that, Death Eaters, they like to party after a night out like that…if it's any consolation I had the former heir's permission…" Harry said brightening a little.

Alistair nodded for a moment, it was a useful piece of information, though without locations of Death Eater houses it wasn't something they could immediately use.

Although…Alistair started to think, if the parties needed goods, and the goods had to come from somewhere…'a job for the research department perhaps…' He thought to himself.

If the Voldemort and his death eaters continued to attack in the manner they had become accustomed to, Harry's method might be a useful method of eliminating large groups of them…

"Former heir?" Lethbridge Stewart asked curiously, usually you only became a former heir when you died, and in wand user families especially heir meant that they were the ones entitled to power, money and land, not something that a wand user would relinquish (according to much of Night Wolf's intelligence) very easily.

"What'd he do?" He added as there were situations when the heir was removed (or assassinated as the case usually was).

Harry smiled at him in an amused manner.

"Complicated, short answer discovered his real heritage, the long answer is a little more complicated."

'Little more complicated', in Night Wolf's world that could meant anything from 'alien invasion…and its our fault' to 'we just found a concord…except its 300 million years old…British Airways wants to know if they can have it back'.

"So you're picking off Voldemort's followers." Alistair queried.

"Basically, the less Death Eaters, or the less experienced ones willing to fight when it all comes down to it…" Harry said with a shrug, which Alistair had to smile at considering Harry's nonchalant attitude about his inevitable fight with Voldemort, he was just laid back now as he was when he had first met him, well almost, considering he'd met Harry in the middle of a fight.

"The less you personally have to take out to get to Voldemort." Alistair finished for Harry.

"That's about the gist of it." Harry nodded.

"Any other buildings that the police are going to put down to terrorist attacks? I assume they had their memories modified?" Alastair asked curiously, though mildly in jest.

"Do I look like I have the ear of the ministry Brigadier? Though if you listened to the prophet…" Harry chuckled.

"Birmingham informed me of the Prophet's reporting. Not the most reliable source of information." Which was the biggest understatement since the recoronation of the Queen and the reformation of the British Parliament was called a 'minor political hiccup'.

"No….No...But…" Harry started.

"But?" Alistair asked raising an eyebrow.

"No buildings but if you get any reports…" Alistair feigned a groan; Harry then started a defence. "Hey it was on their own property probably with just as vicious wards, they had another party…they're the ones who started the fires…someone from the Order was murdered."

Alistair nodded, he was pretty sure he knew which member of the Order Harry was talking about, except he was under the impression that Dumbledore was still reigning as chief.

"The Order of the Phoenix I thought…"

"Oh I've seen to Dumbledore…" Lethbridge Stewart listened as Harry explained the battle on the station, it was interesting hearing the battle from Harry's point of view, the passion and the anger, that had come through in Jones and his team's reports was very vivid from Harry's perspective, it would also assist in building a more detailed picture of events, should the need to tell the whole story to those who were injured on the station…and those who died.

"Then after I recovered from misting so many people from the station and back to…my safe house…" Harry trailed off, before smiling. "Sorry, keep forgetting I told you my most of my secrets, Hermione keeps having a go at me for the amount of secrets that I'm holding, especially 'where I spent my summer', I think she'd be really at home here…" Harry said before shrugging his shoulders once more, as to clear himself of that tangent. "Anyways…I started proceedings with the Goblins on Dumbledore to bring him up on charges, and had him removed from Hogwarts, with a little help of the Minister, who incidentally isn't in my pocket…we just had a conversation."

Alistair nodded, and wondered for a second if Harry was using one of the UNIT models of negotiation, shoot first and interrogate the remains later.

"That's…not a good set of events Harry…" Alistair said, considering he'd already had several words to say about the attack on the station when he'd originally had the debrief with Jones and his team. "Though removing him from Howgarts I thought you wanted to keep him…" He was cut off by Harry.

"Where I can see him…but the war's kicked up to high gear…" Harry was looking restless once more.

"Yes…I assume this isn't a social call Harry, or did you come to fill this old soldier in on your latest battles?" Harry laughed, Alistair smiled to himself.

"You're not old Brig…" Alistair could hear the 'but' coming. "But there is something."

"What…?"

"I wanted to go and talk to some of the people who construct or fix or something the transmats."

That was a request Alistair wasn't expecting, he though Harry might ask for weapons…explosives, or something else to continue attacking his enemies with military grade (and beyond) weapons.

"Why…?" He asked vaguely.

"I have a few theories about dealing with Voldemort…" Harry said vaguely, obviously hiding something.

"And, Harry?"

Harry held up a hand.

"Not quite yet, want to keep it all up here." Harry tapped his temple. "Just in case…plus the plan's in bits if I told you now, I think you'd think it was crazy."

"More crazy than…" Alistair gestured around him.

"Yes…but insane plans have a tendency for being the best for the job." Harry replied.

"Some of the time…" He conceited and added. "We've got both a transmat and a teleport here…"

"Could I go to one of the ship bays?" Harry asked.

"In Scotland or the Australian facility?" Lethbridge Stewart signed and typed into his computer to grant the various permissions for Harry to be able to visit, without being shot several times before being interrogated.

"Either…which ever one has some people I can have a chat to."

Alistair brought up the Gibson Desert facility, which had many more scientists working on different technologies, mainly because the Gibson Desert Facility was so much more larger than the Highlands Facility.

The Gibson Desert could build the Thylacine fighter craft whilst still constructing a vessel and have one or two docked, or be constructing more than one should the need or want arise, the Highlands facility was slightly more limited in space, though it still had a good deal of room.

"Here Mr Potter. Gibson Desert Construction and Research Facility." He toggled the screen to show an image and a set of coordinates of the facility.

"Thanks Brig. I'll share everything with you…"

"Once you're sure your plans aren't totally mad you mean?" Alistair asked curiously again.

"Something like that…" There was a slight rustle of wind inside an office with no current opening to the outside world indicating that Harry had departed.

--//

Professor Fiona Preston looked up from her work, the reports on the production of Thylacines, the notes on the materials coming in from various Research Outposts, the advanced training schedule for their squads on board that were at this moment out training recruits from the Australian Armed Forces and various other things requiring attention.

She looked up at her computer screen, which had even more status reports and general requests, updates and whatever else, the noise which made her look up was an authorisation request, someone was waiting to come in.

_Through the front gate_, this wasn't totally unusual, people did enter to Gibson Desert Research Facility through the 'front gate' as it were, but they generally didn't walk up from the desert and requested entry to what was probably the most secret base in Australia.

The conformation request was authorised by UNIT: Night Wolf, only 5 minutes ago.

Fiona tapped up the scanner readout of ship position to the larger monitor on the wall.

It displayed the position of ships around Earth…there weren't any at the moment, Flinders was in the bays unloading cargo, Hattah was at Outpost 1, Firefox was down for a fixup and Victory was on route.

So he…this Harry Potter…she was sure she'd heard the name in a briefing from Alistair at some point…and it was he who had authorised this Harry Potter entry to her facility, and to talk to personnel regarding matter transmission research…

Grabbing keyboard and mouse she punched up the communication channel to Night Wolf Command.

"Alistair, who's this Harry Potter, how did he get down here so fast?" She asked the image of Lethbridge Stewart.

"He's a sorcerer Fiona."

She nodded, she had several sorcerers working in the construction bays…but even…

"The transmission time between apparation and re-materialisation is still longer than a couple of minutes, especially from where you are down here, according to the time stamp on my video and when you authorised this…he spent less than 10 seconds in transit…it's…"

"Harry has some unique abilities Professer Preston…he's involved with Voldemort…you recall our conversation?"

"He's the guy who has to kill Voldemort?" She asked soberly mulling over the lack of transmission lag, something which they didn't encounter with their matter transmission systems, nothing noticible, but there was, according to Vleugal a noticeable and distinct transmission lag when the wand users apparated or used a port key, the port keys especially had a noticible 'travel time' which added to the lag.

"He is, he wants to have a talk to your matter transmission researchers…he has some esoteric ideas."

"What sort of ideas Brigadier?"

"None that he wanted to share with me." He said with a slight frown.

Fiona had to smile, this Harry must have some pretty out there ideas if he didn't want to share them with General Lethbridge Stewart, who had a pretty long track record, despite all their work, he'd pretty much done it all on Earth, the aliens coming to him.

"Fine, access granted." She hit a few buttons confirming up at the gate that they shouldn't shoot him.

"I'm sure he'll explain it all at some point Professor."

"Just make sure you explain it to me Brigadier." She tapped a button ending the conversation.

//--

Professor Tegan Vleugal looked up as Thomas and a young man walked into her workspace / lab / office and whatever else it needed to be.

"Tegan this is Harry Potter, he wanted to ask you some questions." Thomas said.

"Professor…" Harry Potter said…he used the word Professor…as a name as much as a title, she shook his hand trying to think…

"Harry Potter… have I heard of you before?" Tegan asked, a flash of…several forms of recognition passed over his face.

"He was on the Victory's mission."

"Oh the magic wood on P788. Yes everyone's very excited about the additions they can make." She knew now, a lot of the departments were very excited about the energy potential of the trees and its wood recovered from the planet, there were already fast grow farms being set up, it wasn't really her field, but it seemed that this small discovery would vastly enhance the manner in which the ships and Thylacines manoeuvred. "So what can I do for you Mr Potter?"

"Well…" He trailed off for a second, seemingly tossing around in his mind how to ask his question. Then he took a breath.

"I was wondering if it's possible to dematerialise a person and keep them dematerialised, in a self contained unit, and then rematerialise them, without interfacing said unit with a ship."

Tegan raised an eyebrow, for a guy who probably wasn't even 18 he'd succinctly asked a question involving quite a bit of complicated technology, and managed to sound as though he knew what he wanted.

"Why would you want to do something like that?" She asked first off, it wasn't an idea that hadn't been proposed before, but it didn't serve any practical purposes.

"How up to date are you on the wand holding wizarding world?" He asked curiously. Tegan nodded gently to herself.

"Some people from Night Wolf and even some from others places join us down here…" Then there were the various meetings, discussions and whatever else they did each week or so.

"So you don't know about Voldemort and the war…" He trailed off, she shook her head slowly as did Thomas, there had been mentions of some trouble in England and Europe, but they practically worked in their own small environment down here, barring the alien invasion attempts and whatever.

"Well the very compacted gist is, there's a this guy a evil wizard who had already died once trying to kill me and lived somewhere near death as a soul…or energy, he's been re-corporalised and has a body now. There's also a prophecy that states that I have to kill him. Oh his name's Voldemort…knew I forgot something." He said quickly.

"You can't kill him using a transmat. The energy is still around in either of the stages, even if you don't rematerialise him assuming he's survived as energy once he can most probably do it again…of course I'm only guess." She stated, Harry Potter smiled almost knowingly…obviously he'd considered this.

"That isn't my intention, I just want to be able to transport him as energy to the next stage of my plan…"

"Your plan?" Thomas asked.

"I'm still trying to get it together." Harry Potter said with a bit of a shrug.

"Well…the transmat system isn't big…but it's not small enough to carry around, even the smallest systems I've created still aren't small enough to carry…" Harry Potter slumped a little, so had some of the Night Wolf strategists, the technology required a certain amount of bulk. "But a container to contain the dematerialised energy is simple enough construct and carry on a small vessel…it's just a matter of reprogramming the transmat on a ship to direct the energy to the containment instead of rematerialising it." Though the container and the systems attached to it weren't light enough to simply carry around.

"So it is possible…" Potter trailed off.

"Yes…the second stage of your 'plan', would be to rematerialise the energy back to somewhere else…would require a certain amount of energy in the transmat to rematerialise the energy without being in a transmat area…"

"But it is possible…" Potter trailed off again, obviously thinking.

Tegan was about to say something as the phone rang, Thomas grabbed.

"…General…yes he's…should I…yes…" Thomas looked to Potter.

"Mr Potter, it's General Lethbridge-Stewart for you says it's urgent." Tegan looked again at Harry Potter, he had friends in high and secretive places.

"Brigadier?" Potter answered the phone with a lot of casualness.

"Yes…it's amazing…I'm assuming you didn't call to chat about my surroundings." He said with a sense of wonder.

"I'll be right there, where are you?" Potter listened to the reply nodding to himself. "I'll be right there…"

"It was really great meeting you two, I've got to fly, umm, would it be ok if I dropped by later in the week to discuss this…and some other matters in more detail?" Potter said quickly. Tegan wondered how he was going to get anywhere quickly, apparation, the wand user's method of matter transportation was faster than conventional means, but it wasn't quick, and supposedly given how deep they were conventional wand user methods would never find them, or be able to get out.

"Ye of course Mr Potter."

"I'll show you back to the teleport area." Thomas had in his hand a teleport lock on device, that would get Potter up to the surface, but there weren't any ships in orbit to act as a relay station.

"No need. Adieu." He waved his hand and he seemed to fade away as though riding the wind.

Tegan was staring at the air that formerly held Harry Potter, who had disappeared, without using standard apparition, and without the use of any external methods of matter transmission.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart regarded the white owl in front of him, it had been brought down from its usually spot where it delivered letters and waited for replies up in the tower spire.

It had stead fast refused to allow him to take the letter from it, Harry after all was only a few seconds away.

But he had to give it to the designers of the security at the Gibson Desert Research Facility, if an wand user owl couldn't find it's target then the security was up to scratch.

Lethbridge Stewart looked up as the air in front of his desk solidified into the form of a person, that person had just hung up the phone less than 10 seconds ago and he didn't even break his stride as he did so.

"That was fast Harry."

"Yes…" Harry gazed down at the owl looking indignantly at Lethbridge Stewart. "Hedwig, now…what's so urgen?" Harry asked the owl on the Brigadier's desk, at leaped into the air and dropped the letter into Harry's hands.

Lethbridge Stewart watched as Harry read through the letter a scowl forming as he did so.

"Here Brigadier." Harry offered the letter, Lethbridge Stewart took the offered letter.

_Harry_

_According to my sources inside the werewolf community and Moody's own sources, Voldemort has recruited a quite many vampires to his cause, he plans to attack Diagon Alley, but not just that, he plans on using the vampires to attack the area surrounding Diagon Alley including the Leakey Couldran and muggle London tonight…_

_I tried Sorrento you weren't home, I assume you're further a field…_

_Please contact me as soon as possible, we're organising the order and have contacted the ministry to fight for Diagon but we're vastly out numbered still…_

_Remus_

_P.S. I know we're asking a lot…but if there's one thing I've learnt it's to not underestimate you…_

"This doesn't look good Harry…especially the 'muggle' London part…" Lethbridge Stewart stressed the 'muggle' part, he disliked the word. "I could get you a squad from Night Wolf to back you up on this…"

That was pushing it…if Harry did want a squad it would probably be half a squad, they had various smaller skirmishes on the go…they had also identified two larger encampments on 'old money' land, which were suggested staging points…possibly for these vampires, or more likely for something else living and breathing, Lethbridge Stewart had already authorised the attack on the encampments…and they'd need many of their forces on it, plus those who weren't already battling attacks by groups supporting Voldemort.

Harry shook his head.

"I don't want you or your people any more involved than you have to be…" Lethbridge Stewart watched as Harry checked his watch and sighed slowly in a tired manner.

"I have a few things…which I've been practising on an off, it should help…I need to make a trip home…and then to see Remus…can I borrow a bit of paper?"

Alistair passed over a plain piece of paper wondering exactly what 'a few things' were when it came to Harry Potter…knowing the training he'd helped with, and what the people around Night Wolf had imbued into Harry Potter, it really could be anything, but he had a feeling that it was likely to be Harry's own brand of 'a few things'.

Harry scribbled a note and folded it in half holding it out for his owl to take.

"Alright Hedwig, let's go." The owl glided off his shoulder and flew back around settling onto his shoulder once more.

"Brig, thanks for allowing me to visit Gibson, I might need to drop back there to finish discussing things…"

"And when are you going to explain it to me?" Alistair asked curiously.

"When it doesn't sound…" Harry trailed off allowing Alistair to speak.

"It must be something pretty amazing if you're not willing to share it…But I'm willing to wait for a surprise." 'Just not too long, surprise has a habit to turn into mystery…' Alistair thought to himself.

"Let's go Hedwig." Harry nodded to Lethbridge Stewart and as though a light breeze came through his office Harry Potter disappeared leaving Alistair to again wonder exactly what was Harry planning, not just for the fight ahead, but the war's final battle which was fast approaching.

--//

_Righty, I know not a lot of action in this chapter, but it is a chapter that needed to happen to begin to set up things for the final battle and many more battles before that._

_Some may recognise parts of this chapter as chapters 39 and 40 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space._

_Much of my original work has been re-worked, in fact the only old stuff from those two chapters is the dialogue, all the other impressions and thoughts and everything else is new._

_Thanks for reading and I will endeavour to reply to all reviewers (and thanks for everyone who does review)._


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 26 **

Brigadier Winifred Bambera walked through the corridors of her HQ throwing the skull between her hands as she walked, she'd just been personally dealing with a bunch of university students impressing upon them the severity of the situation…trying to find the 'secret' nuclear reactor under central London.

Walking into her office she placed the skull of a pterodactyl that had some how been missed back in the day when they did the first clean up of the site, it was another thing she would need to see to.

Most likely after the various 'mystery' fights, 'mystery' cold snaps and various other events labelled as 'mysterious' by various authorities had passed.

It had been getting worse over the past three years, her meetings with General Lethbridge Stewart and the MI5 had been getting much more frequent…that was troubling and ominous in itself…

Typing a pass code into her computer she read over the reports coming in from her 'undercover' agents.

She had taken to placing a certain number of UNIT personnel under cover in and around London and various locations…after the Candlebright incident, which considering it had been covered up very efficiently, but also it hadn't been reported to her…being the head of UNIT UK she should have been the first to know about it…

So now she had her own agents out watching the world, the changing world…and more than likely the watchers.

It was late afternoon that the communication beeped at her.

The beeping was announcing a communication encrypted using the changing codes for UNIT ranking officers.

She typed in her code, it was only one person…as she hit the final letter of her pass code she hit the extra device linked into her communication systems, both in her office and on the roof of her HQ, it was a uniquely 'in house' design that her scientific division had invented on her request.

It was a very powerful…and guaranteed to work _this time _tracing device.

Ever since General Lethbridge Stewart had taken command of…his command…Bambera had wanted to know what it was…it annoyed her…

Lethbridge Stewart was part of something…she didn't know what…but he and the other man…they were representing UNIT…and obviously had more secrets than she had cups of coffee…but his secrets still intrigued and annoyed her.

"Hello Bambera." The screen flickered as the trace program engaged over the top of the transmission.

"General."

"I have an assignment for you and your people." He said with a grim smile.

"A mission sir?" She frowned, not at him but at the tracing program.

On the roof of UNIT HQ two satellite dishes spun on their axis re-adjusting to towers used mainly for TV signal, but piggybacked to obtain a wider scanning range…yet still it failed to find the signal, which according to the security protocols was coming through with power and strength.

Bambera watched as Lethbridge Stewart turned and she saw behind him a dull grey wall, she heard him chuckle.

"You're trying to get a trace on my transmission location Bambera?" He said with slightly less grimness then before.

She just raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alone?"

"Yes sir." She answered curiously.

"I need to brief you Bambera, I'll be with you shortly."

Then the communication cut out, the tracing device signalling that it had failed to locate the source of the transmission, Bambera sighed and looked at the device giving it a withering glance.

Then…then the air rippled in front of her desk, and where air had once been standing a man…in a dark shirt and pants holding…a set of filed…materialised in front of her…Bambera was grasping for the gun she kept in her desk and was pointing it at the man…who merely raised an eyebrow at her.

Then she connected the face with the man, and…switched hands to her left hand and saluted.

"Sir!"

"Bambera…I did say I would see you shortly."

"Clearance code…sir."

Lethbridge Stewart rattled off today's security code, and waited for a second watching Bambera…it was protocol after all, there were numerous aliens which had some form of matter transmission technology.

He'd only just managed to grab a 'free ride' with Firefox as they headed out, he'd been in London, making sure it would be empty in the locations that Harry had advised during this…attack…but he also wanted monitoring equipment set up some distance…and had requested Harry Pearce's MI5 officers for the task…but with peak hour traffic in full force…and the evac of the certain areas…Firefox had been more the willing the teleport him from central London out here.

Bambera relaxed slightly, placing the gun back in her desk and saluted.

"General Sir…"

"Yes Bambera…I'll need you to read and sign this before we can go any further." Lethbridge Stewart handed her a folder inside was a bound together set of papers 'Official Secrets Act – Amended Articles.

"Sir? I already have the highest clearance." She asked curiously, without opening the document.

"Not this Bambera…"

She nodded and quickly read through it, it was the typical Official Secrets Act phraseology, except that what stood out was what it didn't say, whilst acknowledging that was she was agreeing to was far outside that which the Official Secrets Act _didn't _cover, and that within itself was interesting.

Lethbridge Stewart accepted back the Amended Articles from Bambera and placed them back within their folder he had with him.

"Now General can you explain exactly what is happening?"

--//

Bambera sat next to one of Lethbridge Stewart's men as they drove towards London reflecting on what she'd been told…

It wasn't as fantastic as she'd imagined…

It seemed that her world just got that little bit more complicated…

Bambera had believed all the stories…of quests and magic that Ancelyn told to her, and now the twins…of mages, knights and witches…of an England ruled by magic instead of technology…ornithopters ruling the skies along side dragons and organic spaceships…

But to find out that there was a…real world of it here…was surprising…

It wasn't surprising that Lethbridge Stewart, one of the founders of UNIT was in charge of this new part of the world.

Now she was in one of two UNIT vehicles thundering down the motorway towards London, timing, the General had said wasn't of the essence, that…"you'll be called when it's necessary…".

Supposedly his part of UNIT….Night Wolf had a man on the ground to deal with the…vampires…

Bambera rolled the word over in her mind…

There had of course been reports of exsanguination, here and there in police reports…but there hadn't been any aliens that fit the profile of exsanguination of a subject…except the case at a military base in 1943, it was still being cleared out today…UNIT had reports of everything 'unusual' reported by the military going back quite far before UNIT was formed, and that incident certainly fit the profile…'A short man with a light Scottish accent and a young girl arrived on base…a blue box also turned up at the time…' that was one of the sentences of the report that stuck out for Bambera…but she was thinking of it now because of the suggestion that 'vampires' had attacked the base…the 'Doctor' had been quoted as stating that they were 'haemovores'…or something like that.

Bambera made a mental not to ask the General about that…and anything else she could think of at a later date.

The General had left not quite as quick as he'd arrived.

He'd climbed into a helicopter that had landed at the back of her HQ, explaining he also had a situation to deal with.

--//

General Lethbridge Stewart stood on the Dover cliffs reviewing the shut down of all operations across the tunnel.

That was part of the reason he'd been in London since some time the morning before.

Their contacts within France's UNIT (NUIT) and their own contacts that they had within the wand user community there had indicated a large force moving through the country side, and it was all converging tonight.

Obviously to coincide with the attack on the wand user's main retailing wing in London, and the attack which…he hoped Harry would be able to deal with outside in London proper.

Alistair had placed Bambera in charge of back up for Harry, and of course clean up and whatever else.

Alistair had been meaning to advise her of UNIT's extra knowledge, while London had been the target of many alien attacks, the frequency had dropped off since the Martian attempt…but there was still a focus on London, and the UNIT commander there needed to be best informed, now, and probably several follow briefs she would be.

This was one of the largest concentrations of artillery that the British army had out laid on British soil for some time.

There were tanks along much of the Dover port, however there were also anti-air craft guns placed at varied intervals along the white cliffs and at other strategic points.

Alistair looked down at his latest report on his hand held computer.

---Confirmation: 3 Dragons---

This report along with the photos made him glad that he'd requested of the military…everything they had that could shoot…

Not everything was useful, the knew from their analysis of the Dragon that was right now at Night Wolf Command being analysed for weaknesses, that the dragons couldn't fly high, or more accurately the pilots of the dragons couldn't gain a large amount of altitude…making many long range artillery not so useful.

There was also the problem of heat seekers…which wouldn't function on a reptile.

Lethbridge Stewart was coordinating this assault from the ground out to sea and sky.

Birmingham mean while was on the RNS _Indefatigable_, he and many other Sorcerers from Night Wolf were coordinating with the Navy, while many of the targets would be coming via air, there were reports of several giants and ogres being herded and controlled through Europe and France…

Even the most powerful magic carpet wouldn't be able to carry the giant and ogres at the same height as the dragons so, they'd need to fly lower to the ground, or in this case sea.

Along with the _Indefatigable, _there was the _Renown _and _Hotspur _all of which had a set of Sorcerers from Night Wolf. They would be treating various ordinances on the run in order to target the incoming enemies.

In theory the ordinances would hit the targets, however the research department had suggested that the targets would be travelling with a great many charms placed on their cargo to protect them against; wind, sea spray, and various other problems encountered when travelling that close to the ocean.

The sorcerers were also on the vessels to assist in 'painting' the targets, many of them could concentrate fire of spells and conjugations that would assist in targeting…

They were also on hand as defence…Birmingham had brought with him enough potions, extracts, herbs and dusts to cover the ship and occlude it from view…should the need arise.

There was also the very real possibility that the ships could be boarded and come under attack from Voldemort's forces…

On each of the ships there was a small contingent of Night Wolf troops.

It would have been larger, but there were already smaller battles breaking out around the United Kingdom, disruptions to public transport and motorways…all with a wand user at the heart of it…all designed to throw the country into unawares so Voldemort could move troops in from the continent without anyone finding out.

Birmingham looked out the window from the bridge of the ship listening to the ship's crew around him.

"…it's almost completely still sir…"

Calm before the storm…

--//

Lethbridge Stewart watched the sun sink slowly down as the daylight became twilight…

He looked over his deployment map, they had a lot of artillery and quite a many ground troops, hopefully though the ground troops wouldn't be necessary…but nevertheless they were also armed with rocket launchers and ground to air missiles.

The only thing that Lethbridge Stewart was concerned about was the state of their non-magical coverage field.

He'd sent three jamming devices with Bambera, there were at least 10 spread around his battle area, and even then it was spreading them thinly, some areas, should ground troops land were covered, whilst others had some blind areas.

Birmingham had made his case for 'his' ships to be best covered and each of those had three on each vessel.

There were several of the jamming devices holed up in Night Wolf Command under repair or rebuilding. Many of the smaller battles taking place around the country were doing so without assistance from a null magic field.

Alistair didn't like it, but it was the best they could do with the time they had…it was better than some…at least this time they had some forewarning.

--//

"Got a contact!" The radar operator called out.

"Where Lt?" The captain called out. Birmingham was staring out of the window, the wind was picking up, but he could see a shimmering some distance from them of a light in the almost night.

"Straight ahead." He stated, the captain turned to him as he gestured out the window.

"Alert the _Renown _and _Hotspur._"

Birmingham almost smiled to himself.

While Night Wolf was a large portion of UNIT, it mostly focused itself in the areas it needed; space vessels, sorcery and the places in between.

Unfortunately when it came to needed naval vessels for this operation they required the Royal Navy…and incidentally the army for the Brig's part of the opp.

Their contacts and liaisons with the British armed forces had allowed them have all officers participating sign the Amended Articles, however they weren't told anything outside of what was required for the mission.

They would be debriefed following the operation…and whatever information needed to be imparted would.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart looked down from looking out across the horizon with the night vision goggles.

His computer indicated a message from the naval battle group, the had first sight of the enemy.

"Not too long now…" He murmured to himself as he walked back the mobile command centre set a small distance behind two of the tanks.

--//

Birmingham accepted the helmet from the officer standing outside the bridge, as he checked his waterproof suit and harness.

He would be directing the assault from the bow of the ship, he was in charge of the sorcerers, but he was also one of the most capable…just as the Brig's role was directing the battle his was to direct and fight it.

Birmingham was glad however of the harness which hadn't seemed such a need when he's walked out to the bow of the ship earlier, but now as the ship swayed in the wind, it was seeming like a much better idea.

"Alpha One to all units, prepare for engagement, lead assault to bow of the ships, secondary units prepare for ordinance overlay and protection. Alpha One out." Birmingham said as he made his way towards the front of the ship opening the steel door and stepping out into the heavy sea spray.

"Encountering radar interference…"

"Contacts?"

"Approximately…10…no 15…sir we're just getting a wash of contacts…it's like we're being jammed with static…"

"Captain, it'll be line of sight until they get within our jamming field…and then you won't need radar." Birmingham said in the relative silence that the helmet afforded against the wind and sea spray.

"Yes sir…" The captain answered, technically Birmingham didn't have a military rank, aside for Sorcerer…however on this operation he had the field rank of Brigadier, something which amused the…General Lethbridge Stewart.

"If your ordinances are in range my officers can…shed some light on the situation…as it were…"

The captain heard the offer come through the bridge and glanced at his 2IC who was watching over the shoulder of some of his officers at the feeds from the various cameras around the ship, while they could definitely see, and had targeting solutions on some things…none of the computer targeting would confirm a lock…and there was France behind the target…

The enhancement systems just gave off a fuzzy questionable static, it wasn't even a guaranteed static, they could definitely see something, but what they could see…and then every time they had a lock the wind would whip around and effect their systems...

"Brigadier sir…are you sure those…devices are fully functional?" The captain asked quickly.

"Captain, if they weren't this sea spray would me much like a hurricane blowing a path out of the way for our…targets, and we would be dead in the water, most likely under it."

The captain nodded at the answer from Brigadier Birmingham, who had upon arriving had stated; just Birmingham, and while he didn't speak like an officer…he had the standing of someone who had seen a great many battles…old eyes as his father would say.

"Alright Brig…Birmingham…start your light show…" He paused. "All hands prepare for…illumination and assault."

"Alpha One to all units, prepare to light the path…"

Birmingham withdrew his wand with one hand whilst resting the bag of focusing material; a paste his department had prepared instead of a standard dust mix for use.

He wouldn't normally use his wand, except in this circumstance he needed all the power and force that he could have, those on the other ships had two people, although some were as proficient in a wand as they were other sorcery means.

Birmingham exhaled into the sea spray slowly relaxing, feeling the wind whip around him, feeling the magic which swam in the air and along the texture of the ocean, sensing its patterns, sensing its force…taking a deep breath in he tasted the ocean the spells that had laced the water, the spells cast forth by the death eater's approach, the spells designed to sink, destroy and remove ships such as the one he was standing, tethered to. Then he uttered one word.

"Commit."

In his hand he formed a pair of swirling masses of light, spinning gathering energy from their spin, from the magic in the air and the force of his intent, whilst in the other he chanted to himself, chanted in his head then chanted at the same time out loud the power building through his wand.

On other ships other sorcerers prepared in similar and different ways, chanting, muttering phrases which assisted in concentration, in power control and management through their focus, through their bodies, pushing it outward and through.

Birmingham's two masses of energy reached counterpoint and leapt outwards flying across the sea, momentarily blinding the infrared cameras trying to gauge an image from the magically induced haze.

The spinning rotating balls exploded to a halt illuminating and would do for several minutes…they only showed 1/6 of the group that was travelling…but the other sorcerer's balls of light and energy stream across, their contributions exploding, swirling and spreading out like smoke across a battlefield, lighting up the sea, like an aura borealis.

Even before the first ball of energy had reached the target guns were already pointing downwards towards where the last radar contact was, their…extra officers, who called themselves 'sorcerers' stood by ready to…do their thing…they'd explained it to them…it was to assist them…against the enemy's countermeasures…but it needed to be performed just before the ordinances were launched.

James sniffed the air around him, the pockets of the…Sorcerer…that was what she'd called herself, smelt of so many different places and things…

But she had hardened, but not grim expression as she stood waiting for his go, she held in her hand what looked like a bunch of herbs and a set crystals…

She's said it wasn't just about the ammunition but the weapon as well, it would all work together…her friend would be assisting his mates by…painting the targets…just not with lasers…supposedly it wouldn't work…

James heard the order to fire come through just as he got a target…

Whatever the Sorcerer was doing she was already doing it.

"Go." She stated as they'd arranged previously.

He started to fire, the ammunition screaming out towards the target again, and again and again…

Birmingham watched, the targets were too far for most offensive spells, but set about casting various deflection charms at the things being flung in their direction or dispelling the small attempts at freezing the ocean around them, not that the death eaters had any where near enough power to freeze the whole channel…though if they managed to freeze the water around his ship, it would take too long to charm their way out…

Robert stood on bow of the _Renown._

"Ready to paint targets Jo…"

"Ready when you are Robert…captain we're all ready here…" He heard her voice say. Jo was in the missile command, linking the final spells together, literally standing ready with the 'paint' activator…in his hand was the orange goo he would use to 'paint' as many targets as he could…it required a good eye and immense concentration on the target…

The rolling of this ship hadn't helped when he first stood out here, now the ship was rocking violently from side to side, he was vaguely aware that something like a frozen ball of water impacted less than half a meter from where he was standing, pushing himself into the bow of the ship and holding on with his one free hand which wouldn't be free too soon.

He'd been requested for this mission because he was one of the more capable sorcerers…not that he was regretting it…it was an amazing ride…

Robert ducked as another ball of ice impacted on the deck, it left a dent as it shattered, obviously the jammers only just killing off most of the charms in time.

"Going…now…" Robert took a deep breath, focusing on the hazy targets in that were every second approaching and becoming more and more clearer…

The sorcery department, where he honed a lot of his skill had said that he was one of a rare group, he had a degree of natural psi ability…a skill only a very few people had, not Occlumency of Legillemency what the wand users used to invade or scan a mind…Birmingham and the others had said that a genuine psi ability was something more, something different.

Robert knew it was something minor…but it was still something huge.

He focused himself out, the orange goo ripping through the air, a small spoonful painting itself onto one of the giants on the carpets, or onto the carpets themselves.

Robert felt a small trickle of sweat drip down his head despite the wind and the rain he was quite warm inside the survival suite which kept out the rain and sea spray.

He proceeded to 'paint' all his targets within view…that were within the attack arena of the _Renown._

"All targets painted Jo, go for launch…"

Jo was down in the missile deck watching several beakers, so many that she had a couple of officers waiting in front of the missiles with them, they all started out a deep shade of green and each time Robert's portion was separated from his main stash it would change a colour to a corresponding element within the concoction here, linking them, guiding them…all that was needed was her to activate the connection fully, something she couldn't do until all of it on Robert's end was out.

"_All targets painted Jo_,_ go for launch._"

"Go ahead, paint the missiles." She shouted to the navy officers around them as she did so a few and then moved to the closest that was ready to go into the missile launcher.

She gently sprinkled a small portion, less the a teaspoon of dust over the wet concoction and it glowed for a second as she muttered an archaic word.

Slowly she made her way through the deck, activating and preparing each one before nodding to the commander.

Robert turned as the missiles screamed out of the launcher towards their targets, he could see them now, and watched with satisfaction as their targets exploded, incinerating them or leaving them to drown in the deep ocean.

--//

Behind the small battle group out of view another battle was about to begin, Lethbridge Stewart stood waiting for the dragons to come into view.

"Report?"

"We have…oh…contacts on radar…at least 5 contacts, they fit the radar profile of dragons…several outriders, wand'rs on brooms…other intermediates…"

"Flying carpets…transmit coordinates to all units." Lethbridge Stewart ordered as he picked up his radio.

"This is Lethbridge Stewart, targets in bound, all weapons: go, ready all weapons, large contacts on approach."

Outside the dragons and their riders glided downwards towards the white cliffs of Dover, ready to set alight the towns, and create havoc for the 'muggles' living there…their Lord and chose this as it was the main point that the muggles use to gain access to France…

The tank operators using the information from the command centre and their own eyes…which they thought were betraying them nonetheless opened fire on the…dragons which were gliding towards them…

Quickly they realised that these would not be downed as easily as a bi plane, or even a larger machine…

The dragons which were gliding down towards the dull green boxes swerved quickly as mass amounts of explosive and artillery were fired, winging them or ripping their pilots to shreds.

Still the continued to fire.

"Concentrate your fire, tank 1 through 5 north west quadrant, 6 through 11 south west quadrant." Lethbridge Stewart barked into his mic.

The tanks quickly readjusting to the manoeuvrable enemy which didn't use any conventional means of propulsion and took aim once more each firing off in quick succession with each other, re-loading and firing once more.

One of the large beasts fell from the sky as more than 20 shots impacted in several vital areas and it lost all motor function, it plummeted downwards to cliffs below, had a wand user been present they would have witnessed a group of muggles down a Ukrainian Ironbelly, faster and with more accuracy than any wizard alive.

"AA guns ready to repel secondary assault forces, brooms and carpets in bound." Lethbridge Stewart said as a second set of coordinates was transmitted out.

Étienne took no time as he and his team mates sought the targets taking them down, he didn't worry about simple things…such as that they were people in cloaks riding carpets, or cloaked men straddling brooms, though a part of his brain didn't consider briefly a class he'd taken in university about the importance of the phallus in some early pagan writing.

But it didn't interfere with his ability to shoot them down, they did explode with a satisfying explosion, the enhancements that the officers from UNIT really had enhanced his group's artillery…or it could be whatever they'd used was reacting with whatever they were firing on…

There was large thump about 5 meters from them, he turned briefly…the tent they were using to store extra ammunition had been flattened by a large…dragon with dark green scales and long golden horns…had someone from a dragon conservation heard Étienne's description they would have been both surprised and angry that a bunch of 'muggles' had downed a Romanian Longhorn.

Through the night the battle seemed to wage, but for the Brigadier he knew battle, this was a large assault, he knew that…but they were slowly making headway…they had at last count 4 dragons down and a majority of the air attackers were down…

However one of the dragons had broken their containment lines, together with around 10 brooms…all the carpets at least were smouldering wreckage around them.

"Get me RAF support." He barked. "Greyhound Leader, request 5 jumpers…" he turned to his radar operator. "Last position transmitting now…extreme risk." He listened to the confirmation.

"_Jumpers on route Greyhound Leader. Contact when targets eliminated."_

"Received." Lethbridge Stewart had had the Harriet Jump Jets on stand by, just in case.

The air force didn't want their planes flying and fighting over the channel, not with the navy already there with inside a heavy magic field.

But they had conceited that the jumpers might be necessary if not all the air attackers had been eliminated.

Jumpers 1 through 5 screamed thought the night air, the targets; one large target, and several smaller targets.

The smaller targets would be taken out with main guns…they had orders to use all missiles on the main large target…the dragon…

That's what the briefing had said…any whilst the pictures only showed a dead one…and old pictures…

A live one flew into view…a huge plume of fire thundering towards the jets which were flying at Mach 1.3, forcing them to peel off on a 180 degree turn. Turning around, jumpers 1, 2 and 3 looped around and came back face to face with the broom riders they flew steadily and at speed towards the broom riders cutting their brooms and bodies to pieces with hot pieces of metal, whilst simultaneously letting loose powerful missiles, aimed, not with head seekers but line of sight at the dragon with black scales and bronze horns…

Less than a second later jumpers 4 and 5 were behind the dragon, known to wand using wizards as Hungarian Horntail.

The combination of 10 high velocity missiles impacting on the body of the dragon was enough to rip it in three as it tried to escape them, it fell from the high sky down onto the fields below them along with the charred remains of Voldemort's guards that were accompanying it.

--//

As the battle in Dover was slowly ending and cleaning up, the battle in London was only half way done…a man who hadn't even finished school was fighting a hoard…

--//

_Quite a high death count, some nice large action scenes, very big, lots of explosions, fighting, and quite a few dragons dead._

_I almost split this chapter into two (with Lethbridge Stewart's battle part of the other chapter), except it seemed to all flow better as one._

_Next chapter will see more of Harry, Bambera and other portions of the battle and aftermath._


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 27**

Bambera sat in the truck waiting for the go signal to go through 'Night Wolf' and she supposed ultimately the General to allow her and her teams to move in to clean up the area and mop up the remains of the battle…

As she sat in the truck…waiting...she looked out the window again, aside from the truck she was sitting in which held the Night Wolf magical 'jammers' there was a second truck of her own people.

They'd picked up two clean up trucks from the central London HQ that were on standby in case of any emergencies which needed a quick clean up or removal in the central London district.

People were always uncovering bits of alien incursions missed by previous UNIT teams, or even before UNIT articles of incursions that they didn't or had little knowledge about.

But now she waited for confirmation that this Harry Potter, had dealt with an assault force of 'vampires'.

Bambera couldn't help but feel that there was more than one battle going on in the United Kingdom this night…it was a feeling.

'My lady's Battle Sense' Ancelyn had called it…when they had been 'courting', as he'd liked to put it…she wouldn't have called it like that…but supposedly 'shagging like bunnies' didn't quite have the same grace as 'courting'.

Bambera wondered how Ancelyn would take all this…if she got clearance for him…she would need to ask Lethbridge Stewart about that as well.

Ancelyn was currently working with some of the British Army and UNIT recruits in 'alternative battle styles'…Bambera wondered if this was what they thought of as 'alternative'.

Bambera had to admit to herself it was a large portion of information to absorb…but then again nothing really changed…she was still in charge of the forefront of alien incursions…she just knew more than the average UNIT officer…

--//

Lethbridge Stewart looked around, they were setting up the a set of large halogen lights lighting up the area where the battle had been fought, around him tanks were moving out, ground to air guns were being packed up, missile launchers checked and packed back into their cases.

The British Army having done what they came to do; repel the enemy, were following orders, packing their gear away and prepping to move out.

There was also the clean up teams from Night Wolf, moving in, bagging and sealing all remnants of the Death Eater assault…the dragons would be a problem, there were some larger flat bed trucks standing by with small cranes to transport the dragons, but he'd only anticipated the 3 dragons, not the 4 that were littered around.

He had another team out collecting the pieces of the fifth dragon destroyed by the Harriets.

Lethbridge Stewart tilted his head listening to the night air, particularly in the distance, he was awaiting a sky crane from the Northern Highlands Facility which would hopefully be able to bring pick up the dragon lying at the base of the cliffs.

All the dragon bodies would be taken to a Night Wolf secure location, while Night Wolf Command was large, putting this many bodies in one place would be pushing it…

"General Sir, signal from Harry Potter sir." A Lt called from the mobile HQ.

Lethbridge Stewart walked briskly back over to the HQ.

"_Brig…_" It was almost a whisper, he looked to the communications man.

"Strong signal sir…it's…" Lethbridge Stewart nodded, it was Harry who was whispering, raggedly.

"Harry?"

"Send in the UNIT team…there's a bit to clean up…" There was a cough that followed, that, again ragged and tired.

"Get me Bambera's team." He said. "Harry they're on their way…" Lethbridge Stewart said calmly into the mic, there wasn't any answer.

--//

"_Sea Bird, you have a go, beware of any hostiles, man down, repeat man down. Maintain biohazard when dealing with all vampires, beware secondary hostiles and other beings within battle area, Greyhound Leader Out."_

"Let's go." She said to the driver as she twisted the frequency on her radio. "Sea Bird to all teams, move in."

The trucks rushed through an eerily quiet London, all the traffic lights were locked to red…it was quite unusual, not unheard of…but then usually there was an alien force in London to offer some explanation or plans for global domination…

They were moving down an unassuming road when their truck's light flicked off and the truck stalled to a stop, beside her she heard similar noises to her own.

"That's it Brigadier, we're within the magical field…" Bambera nodded, she had had an 'on the run' briefing from her driver, who was also one of the people from Night Wolf who had been sent along to make the things work properly.

"Then let's get the…magical jammers set up Lieutenant…" She said slightly unsure.

He nodded as she also jumped out walking over to the other trucks.

"Alright, we wait until these…devices are set up…" She felt a twitch inside her body…inside her head…it was…not unlike a feeling of hypnotism…but it was something else, she looked over her teams…even the clean up crews looked…worried…spooked.

It was a feeling that made her want to turn and run, to leave here, to get away from here just to stop the itching, the scratching, just beyond her mind, just beyond her senses, just outside the feel of her uniform…which never seemed to annoy her before, but now it was making her want…

Then there was a humming and it all melted away…to just an annoying sense of something out of place.

"Sir…Brigadier?" She turned and saw the Lt standing beside her.

"Lt?"

"The feeling should drop now…it's the anti-personnel magic field…it makes you feel like that…we're within the field now…but you and your teams will need to stay within the…"

"The 800 meter zone between the three jammers…yes…Right move out, standard deployment, secure the perimeter, we're looking for one man down."

Her teams came to attention and went out securing the perimeter.

Striding over the the clean up crews who were already suiting up.

"Brigadier, we received a not from General Lethbridge Stewart…?"

"Confirmed, full bio-hazard, treat anything you get near as though they've got the next typhoid, all bodies in full biohazard bags, when you get them back to the HQ morgue make sure there's at least two guards on duty."

"Another of the don't stay dead ones?" One of the clean up guys said as he pulled on the large bulky and bright orange bio-hazard suits.

"Just be careful…you don't want to get infected with what they've got…there isn't any cure…" She said repeating the General's words.

"Huh…makes a change from 'probably isn't a cure', Brigadier?"

She turned and nodded acknowledging the woman, she wasn't an officer but she was part of UNIT, a specialist within the clean up division.

"Should we extract the sewers in case of possible contamination?"

Bambera thought for a moment, Lethbridge Stewart hadn't given her a lot of information, in fact she'd only been told the information.

"Take samples, then flush the sewers, standard flush and sterilise of all publicly accessible areas within the battle area."

"Okay…we'll leave that to last guys…get the bodies moved first."

"Stay within the perimeter of the jamming devices…until we can move them or clear more area to keep everything in range." Bambera added glancing up, it was dark, and without any street lights and almost no other light they were relying on the lights on top of the clean up crew's trucks, who were also breaking out larger hand held light plugged into the main truck…but they were obviously still being affected even with the magical jamming field that was active.

Bambera walked over to where one of her team had indicated…it was someone…

He rolled over, it seemed this was Harry Potter…Lethbridge Stewart had suggested he might have…feather coming from his back…she had thought as the time the General was talking about some sort of armour…against the vampires…

But this young…he didn't even look 18 man, had large, very limp looking wings protruding from his back.

"Harry Potter I presume?" She said squatting down.

"My reputation precedes me I see." He coughed weakly saying with a small smile...he was quite pale.

Bambera turned to the Sergent. "Sergeant, get Mr Potter onto a stretcher."

Harry Potter pushed himself into a kneeling position coming face to face with her.

She could see he had bright eyes, eyes that had seen a lot…and not just tonight.

"Brigadier Bambera I presume." He said in weak amusement.

"And these bodies." She asked gesturing around and behind him.

"Vampires…mostly…you need to be…" He started to say worriedly despite his exhausted form.

"Full Bio-Hazard, General Lethbridge-Stewart informed me as to what to expect…" She stated. He nodded sinking back, seemingly supported by his wings, or that's how she assumed he did it when he was in full health, now it seemed they were just keeping him upright.

"Oh…I think if it's all the same I might pass out now…" He said almost as an after thought.

"If you did all this…then I wouldn't think any less." She said reassuringly as the medics came up behind him.

"I did…" Then he collapsed into the arms of the medics.

"Get him ready to transport back to HQ. He's one of ours." She said to their unsaid question.

Bambera watched for a moment as the medics carefully moved Harry Potter, wings and all onto a stretcher and made certain he wasn't in any danger, if not he would be moved when her main team made certain there was no threat…

She absently patted the pocket of her tactical vest, it help amongst other things a block of wood, which according to the General, you needed to say 'Protego' to activate it, and while it was still in the testing phase was enough so that he would give her teams it for use in the field.

The General's men had seemed confidant that it worked 'though only with the wand'rs, don't try it with bullets', one of them who had been handing them out had added nervously.

Bamera looked around walking to the edge of the triangular coverage area, it was only just large enough for their 4 vehicles and only within some of the vampire bodies.

She considered stepping outside the field, but then thought against it, considering the utter…disjointed feeling before they switched their devices on.

Bambera was about to ask one of the Night Wolf personnel when a Lieutenant appeared, having managed to sneak up on her, she secretly gave him points for that.

"Brigadier." He addressed her, the rank came across as an almost comfortable name rather than a rank.

"Lieutenant?" She raised an eyebrow, it was obvious he wanted to say something.

"We can move the jammers out further…" He gestured in the directions that she was looking further out where the majority of the vampire bodies lay. "…but their effectiveness will be lessened, all your teams are proficient in anti-hypnosis techniques." He said, it was more a statement, than a question be it rhetoric or not.

"Of course Lieutenant." Bambera made sure every person within her command had advanced anti-hypnosis training, you never knew when you'd come across an alien with better than terrible telepathic skills, or even UNIT standing order priority A1…or any other time travelers that might cross paths with anyone with her command.

"Proceed with the movement, my teams will…continue with their duties."

Bambera watched as the three people from Night Wolf moved the large devices out into a much larger triangular grid, the feeling was almost immediate, it wasn't the same as when they'd initially arrived, without any of the devices on, this was much more subtle, a little bit like being gassed…

It was silky, yet urgent, a feeling that suggested she should get in her truck, even take off on foot, that it would stop the feeling.

Bambera shook herself, it was an irritant but with enough concentration she could ignore it, looking around her other teams and were doing similar things, checking their weaponry, their wood…shield things, the clean up crews appeared to be concentrating on their work.

Then she saw a building, which she hadn't noticed before, it appeared to be an old run down pub, except he door was opening slowly, General Lethbridge Stewart had assured her that there would be no people in this part of London 'a practical guarantee, when dealing with the wand users…but there might be some…call them not enemies for now Bambera'.

"You men with me." She barked grabbing at her weapon with one hand and the shield, wood device in the other.

She noted that her teams were doing the same.

They converged around the door just as a group of…people in what appeared to be fancy dress spilt out of it, pointing wooden sticks…wands, at her and her team.

"Activate." She muttered to her teams. "Protego." She said firmly.

In front of her and her men the air rippled and she felt the wooden block in her hand almost tighten, then in front of her was a red shield, the edges were fuzzed slightly, but it made everything through it slightly red tinged, but it made most of the people in fancy dress, who looked like they had just fought a small battle take a step back.

"Who are you?" Bambera noted the man, had a false eye and scars which looked like he'd had his face removed and placed back on his skull, his voice was rough and hard…Bambera knew that if this group rushed her and her team he would be the first she'd need to shoot.

But…General Lethbridge Stewart has said to announce first…'standard speech…you know the drill…"

"I am Brigadier Bambera of UNIT, we are currently cleaning up a bio-hazardous incident, please return to your…" Bambera gazed up at the building, she noticed that the group followed her eye line. "…building."

"Unit?" The younger woman queried.

UNIT wasn't a secret as in a secret, its existence wasn't a secret to the armed forces, even the politicians, it was a research organization with military backing to some…it was what they dealt with that was frequently the secret part of their organisation.

"United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. We are currently clearing the area of an array of hazardous materials. Please return to your building." She stated clearly, watching their sticks…wands…

Her team tensed as they seemed to shift into a stance similar to a sword fighting position, another thing that Ancelyn taught UNIT teams.

"Any hostile action will be met and countered and you shall be considered an enemy by myself and my troops." That was an order both to the hostiles and Bambera noted with satisfaction as she heard her team's click of their weapons as the safeties came off their guns.

There was then, a slightly worried look through the group as they saw her team take aim over their primary organs.

Bambera watched one man, younger than some of the others muttering to the group.

Then they all moved shuffling trying to get back inside the building, the scarred man with the false eye looked at Bambera and her team once more muttering something. Bambera swore it sounded like 'damn mudels…'.

Then there was just the single younger man left, he waited until the door closed.

"I'm Remus, Remus Lupin..." He lent over at the door, her team followed his actions, their fingers tightening on the trigger as he checked the door was shut.

"I know about Night Wolf." He raised an eyebrow. Bambera almost did herself, for a supposedly more secret than UNIT organisation it had some odd friends.

"I am surprised…" He said almost appraising her team.

"At what Mr Lupin?"

"At how fast you are at your 'clean up'. The ministry hardly ever in the last war worried about 'muggles' in our war…I am surprised that you were able to bypass the anti-muggle charms…" Bamera watched this Lupin as he looked at her; she nodded to her team.

"Maintain the perimeter, I'll look after him." Her team moved back out to their original positions, she could handle Lupin, she held onto the wooden shield block in her pocket, but had deactivated it as they started to walk.

"Do you know where Harry is?" He asked looking around.

"Harry?" She asked curiously…

"Harry Potter…probably had large black leathery wings…" Lupin muttered the last part as though worried to share the information.

Bambera merely raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know where he is." Bambera could have sworn the man growled.

"He is alive…as to where…I cannot say, he is safe at a UNIT facility…" Bambera stated. The man, Lupin seemed to pause and think for a moment.

"Tell him thank you…no…tell him to contact…just tell him we're at HQ…" He said after a moment's pause.

"Very well Mr Lupin." She said, he nodded a thanks and walked back to the…building, half way back he seemed to pause as though he was thinking, she saw him tense his hand into a fist, then he chuckled and walked back inside.

Bambera ordered her men to continue a perimeter patrol, to properly ascertain that there were no hostiles.

It became clear early on that the only hostiles left were dead…though they were dead, they were no dangerous.

After consulting with the woman in charge of the clean up crew she made an executive decision.

She'd left a squad behind, their orders were to keep any civilians out of the bio-hazard zone, just in case they were able to bypass the field which as she left had been concentrated inward around the bodies, in theory it left the clean up teams cut up from everyone, with her men patrolling the outskirts.

She meanwhile was accompanying the man who fought…that army, Harry Potter, who still lay unconscious, his…wings lying limp around him.

Again she hoped that she could gain clearance for Anceyln…his calm manner would surely help to explain the man before her and how he came to be fighting armies alone.

Bambera shook her head, Ancelyn would probably say the same thing he said to her, when she ended up in UNIT's hostpital.

'You're a hero my lady, you fight the evil in the world, and defend against the attackers that bring forth destruction.'

--//

_This is a direct continuation of events from chapter 26._

_Also much of this chapter runs co-current with later events of Chapter 41 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space._

_Chapter 28 will continue the events of this chapter and the previous, dealing with many of the battles and issues that have arisen from these two chapters._

_Thanks for reading._


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 28**

The set of screens showed the troop deployments around the outer walls of the factory. They had been hastily set up inside what used to be the meeting room of the factory which overlooked several parts of it.

It displayed the various UNIT and Night Wolf troops guarding the perimeter as the last of the trucks delivered their cargo via live video feeds. There were also computer layouts of the troops and where they were according to various movement detectors and other such devices.

General Lethbridge Stewart stared at them for a second before walking over to the glassed wall, the meeting room he was in over looked several of the huge freezer rooms.

The large factory had begun its transformation into a makeshift lab for the dissection of the dragons, before the battle had taken place although only with the provision for three, rather than 5 of the massive beasts.

Night Wolf Command still held the charred remains of Night Wolf's previous encounter, and that dragon was taking up quite a lot of room and lab time while it's inner workings and weaknesses were explored, Night Wolf Command had enough room for another dragon…but not three and definitely not 5, thus this site had been chosen.

The factory formerly the 'Icy Block Pty Factory' had been out of business since the world war II but had been acquired by the Ministry of Defence shortly after for storage of 'unknown' (which Lethbridge Stewart had learnt very quickly usually meant alien) artefacts and equipment which needed special conditions.

Following UNIT's inception it had fallen out of use and back into Defence hands, until now.

Lethbridge Stewart gazed out the window as the second truck backed in and the cranes were readied, the trucks were usually used for transporting mining size vehicles and logistically it was tricky at best moving the trucks with their 'unusual' cargo from Dover to his present location.

He still had a contingent of Night Wolf troops some barely out of their 'specialised' field training working with the regulars scouring the area where the final dragon had been destroyed by the RAF, it was found following the missile impact it 'broke up' on the way to the ground, and it was necessary to note and remove each piece…however the clean up crews were all busy clearing away evidence around Dover docks, and out at sea assisting the Royal Navy, Birmingham was assisting in correlating all of the clean up around the main attack site.

--//

Private Damon Janston walked through the scrub of grid 212 and planted another small dark blue flag next to a lump of…flesh…reptilian…dragon…

Damon had always wanted to be a part of UNIT, he'd practically walked in the front door…actually that was what he did do, and what's more they hadn't been surprised…they said an unnamed amount of troops were brought in and trained direct by UNIT rather than being armed forces regulars.

Then following several tests and experience in the field with UNIT he had been fas tracked (very quickly in his own opinion) into a more than top secret arm of UNIT…Night Wolf.

It was more than he ever imagined, aliens he could cope with, even the mysterious and albeit slightly annoying and hard to trust scientific advisor, who was supposedly the same person he could easily accept, aliens and all that was easy enough to accept…

But magic…that was something else, and now here he was, with an assortment of weapons on him, including the new S/K-1, and regular weapons, and orders to 'should any wand user's "appear" to observe and try not to get shot'.

But his and the other squads out here primary mission was to mark all the dragon…pieces for later removal.

As Damon moved onto grid 222 he saw a larger piece of the carcass, as he was making his way through the high over grown grass he heard a series of pops.

He threw himself to the ground dropping the flag he had in his hand and grabbing for his weapons, and radio.

"_You sure this was place Tonks?"_ Damon heard a young man's voice.

"_I'm sure, I got it out of the muggle's head, she saw a large dragon, it was definitely a Hungarian Horntail."_ The woman said, this 'Tonks' Damon assumed was a code name, or a nickname given the casualness in which the man referred to him as.

"_You can almost smell the Dark Magic in the air…Bill have you found any curses on the head?" _

Damon heard a man ask, Damon thought about poking his head up through the grass, but it would probably reveal his location, for now he thought it was best to stay low and concentrate on his breathing, shallow calm breaths, continue to monitor and collect as much information as possible, at least much of the dragon had already been removed to the secure location with the other dragon bodies.

"_They definitely cast some heavy curses to control the dragon…Charlie, have you seen…"_

"_Yeah…I see, it through into the skull of the Horntail…" _The second man…Charlie sounded similar to this Bill, it sounded almost a family resemblance. _"What were they doing to her…it's…monstrous…"_ He sounded disgusted…

"_That's what war is lad." _The gruff man said once more.

"_Can you track the curse Bill? The one that was used to control…or destroy the dragon…?" _The woman, Tonks asked calmly.

"_Yes…Moody, can you take the head back to HQ…I'll be able to pick apart the curses they used…we should be able to use a modified point me from there."_

"_I'll help you Moody…dragons can be…difficult…even in death." _The man, Charlie said and then muttered. _"Even deadly…I hope she took some of the bastards with her."_

Damon laid low, listening to the crackle of the wand'rs magic for several minutes, there was a dull murmur coming from the men and the woman as they worked.

Damon could feel the air changing in consistency as the wand'rs worked. Reaching down he grabbed at his radio, just to check it, it fizzled in his hand and then…stopped. Just as he was looking down there was a BANG sound and it felt as though he were on an airplane for a moment as the air pressure shifted wildly.

Popping his ears he waited for a few minutes before carefully rising.

In the area where the portion of the carcass had been there was only a small circle of flattened grass.

Grabbing at his radio he found it had died, or shorted out…or….

"Affected by the wander's magic…" He muttered to himself and pulled out a flare gun and loaded it with an orange flare…

--//

Second Lieutenant James Bradfield walked back around 'his' tank, he was assisting in the move of a portion of the army's tanks from _Operation Hare _to _Operation Fedora_.

Double checking the treds once more it appeared they'd cleared all the _dragon_ claws from it, it was something they would definitely need to investigate, especially if a long term assult encountering many of the beats were to ensue. While just a few of the claws didn't appear to do any damage, he'd had to use a diamond tipped saw to remove one of them.

Bradfield nodded to himself as he completed checking the treds, he would be accompanying the UNIT squads to _Operation Fedora _at an old M.O.D. site, a UNIT site now, according to the maps the army held it was a Top Secret site.

Though he reflected...there was a sudden pop which halted any more thoughts, a man in black judge's robes had appeared in front of him, he'd heard the UNIT guys talking…and then there had been the dragon bodies, the last of which was just being taken away…but, a man appearing out of thin air…the man turned to face him, he had a white mask on.

"Stupid muggles, now…." The voice sounded…cultured behind the mask, the man raised…a wooden stick…

Bradfield aimed his weapon at the man.

"Raise your hands, you are on a restricted military training site."

The man laughed amusedly.

"If you do not, I will be forced to open fire."

"Forced…indeed, what would a simple _muggle _such as yourself possibly do to me…" The man chuckled once more.

Bradfield squeezed the trigger, and just as he the gun was about to click launching the bullet he dropped it, not because he wanted, but because he suddenly, and impossibly felt extreme pain, inexplicable pain, it felt as though his blood were boiling…had he listened, he would have heard the man mutter softly a word….

Then it stopped, he fell to the ground, grappling for his weapon.

"Don't do that…now…" Bradfield could hear his blood pulsing in his ears, thumping, he stranded to hear the man, butt he felt the wooden stick be pressed to his head. "Ledgillmens…"

In some corner of his brain he realised felt someone shuffle through his head…it was like that time he'd been forced into the infirmary after he'd been out in Edinburgh…someone had spiked his drink…or several…it was like he wasn't there…like someone was talking, searching for something.

He felt…or maybe saw…or heard…it was like something far beyond yet close…words _'Where are the dragons?' 'Where are the Death Eaters?', 'Where are the giants?' 'Where have you taken the dragons?'_. But it didn't all come like that it was more…and then it was less, like someone was walking around in his mind swinging a cricket bat. It felt like someone wanted something…looking for directions…

Bradfield searched, grabbing at his radio, trying to hit the emergency button, while trying to keep the man distracted…doing whatever he was doing.

The emergency portion of the radio was shielded against EMP and various other attacks, and Bradfield hoped it would do something as the man prodded his head harder and he felt unable to move or stop the intruision into his mind and to try and stop himself from screaming as the pressure in his head

Brimingham looked up at one of the computer screens, it was flashing 'Emergency Radio Signal Activated', giving a set of coordinates.

"We have a ERS in sector 6…"

"_Received Alpha One._"

Birmingham looked over at the other screens showing the progress of the trucks carrying the dragons to 'Operation Fedora' as the army had designated it.

Outside there was a thump against the side of the mobile HQ and Birmingham was already moving towards the door, he knew the sound of an Avada Kedavra which missed its target, impacting on the reinforced outside of the mobile HQ.

Outside, Birmingham was slightly relieved it didn't look like there was a fully fledged fire fight going on, but there were some Death Eaters walking around.

He un-holstered his S/K-1 flicking it over to the Kill setting.

Moving carefully throughout he shot down two, shorter death eaters and followed the screams.

Bradfield couldn't stop screaming, the pressure, the pain and whatever else was happening he couldn't stop…and then it stopped.

The man was chuckling again.

"So, the muggles have moved the dragons…not so simple after all…" He seemed to be talking to himself.

Bradfield couldn't see…he was quite sure it was the blood running from his eye sockets, but he still had has hand on the gun, he raised it, pointing in the direction of the man's voice.

He emptied a full clip into the man before collapsing, leaning against his tank.

Birmingham watched as a man limped towards a cliff top, gazing between the man and where he had heard the screams, which had stopped quite suddenly he elected to follow the man.

Concentrating for a moment he holstered his weapon and stood palms up, muttering and concentrating he shimmered for a moment and disappeared from view.

The spell was affective as a spying tool, but would only last 20 minutes at the most, especially without any focus or anything to merge with the spell.

Birmingham watched following quietly as the man ripped off his mask, Lucius Malfoy, he realised, who had two head wounds was cursing in three languages in quick succession.

Lucius Malfoy cursed in three different languages, the muggle had fired some sort of…cannon into his body, he felt at the holes in his robes, he had been shot several times…he would definitely need a healer…the pain however was bearable, concentrating he disappeared with a pop, reappearing on a cliff top, cringing against the pain in his upper thigh he dropped to one knee.

"Well Lucius?"

"The muggles have the dragons, I have the location."

"Very well…withdraw the others…I wish to remove the dragons before they are defiled."

"Yes Master." Malfoy rose nearly collapsing, watching his Lord disapparate.

"Mors Morde."

Birmingham gazed up as a glowing skull formed into the early day sky.

It looked…quite ineffectual, given the relatively sunny day, in fact it was being washed out by much of the sun and just looked like a bad fireworks display.

There were a sound of pops around the site as the death eaters disappeared.

"_Orange flare sighted in Grid 222."_

"Investigate, take a squad, Alpha One out."

Birmingham made his way back towards where he had heard the screams, shaking off his spell as he walked.

"You're going to have company Brigadier…" He muttered to himself.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart regarded the troops placed around the perimeter of the fence, as well as the inner courtyard, the tanks taking their defensive positions having just been moved off the trucks.

He'd received Birmingham's information a couple of hours ago, both the information over heard by Private Janston and by Birmingham himself.

The best thing they could do was bolster their location and fight away the attackers, he wasn't letting the dragons go to Voldemort's troops, and who ever the first wave of troops were, they sounded like Harry's Order of the Phoenix, but until they attacked, if that was what they were going to do, they would need to wait an see.

Voldemort's Death Eaters were more of a problem, but he wasn't going to fall back an allow them to take the dragons, they were too much a curiosity and a resource to simply be abandoned.

The only thing which was slightly worrying from a tactical perspective was their lack of magical jamming support, there were 6 available to them, which were currently maintaining a close perimeter around the building, and even with those 6 they were running at half the efficiency, with most likely some blind spots, some had been damaged in the previous night's battles, others were back at Night Wolf being repaired, the ones he had were the 'not too damaged' ones, or those that had been repaired on the way to his current location.

Tucking on his tactical vest he grabbed a small hand held computer and made his way out of the command centre, it was being run by a trained crew from UNIT HQ, from Bambera's own command who were experts in micromanagement and planning of operations. Lethbridge Stewart could sense it just by being in the room with them, the small gestures the looks, this team had been in field away from command, yet could manage large groups simply and with ease.

He nodded to the men on the door which was quickly sealed up as he walked out, he needed to be out in the field, outside of the building for this, they would need all personnel on the ground who were familiar with all the players and their tools in the coming battle.

Not all the troops here were from Night Wolf, many of them were regulars, who despite fighting with them on the Dover Assault, or 'Operation Hare' hadn't had the training to develop the innate sense to detect and battle wand users.

He'd conferred with Birmingham and they'd decided that the most logical time for both parties to mount their attack was night.

The Death Eaters typically attacked at night, though considering their attack at Dover that wasn't always the case.

Looking around Lethbridge Stewart paused for a smile, while it wasn't a large force, they could surely beat back the wand users and make them think twice about the people that they so casually rape of thoughts.

There were four tanks positioned roughly half way into the perimeter in near the corners of the large warehouse, each challenger had a quarter of the area to cover.

Troops were placed around patrolling, waiting for the inevitable battle, just when and how was a mystery.

Lethbridge Stewart was thankful that this factory was situated inside an undeveloped estate also held by the M.O.D. The surrounding township had been warned that there was to be a 'bomb disposal squad' removing spent ammunitions from the estate.

It wasn't an unlikely cover story, but it wasn't the best, considering they had four very powerful tanks around, but with many of their research people on the dragon research and UNIT and Night Wolf's 'facilitators' working on plausible cover stories for the battle in London, Dover plus the various townships around the outer counties, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands which had some sort of battle damage, or fire fights which had broken out in the past 48 or so hours, it was the best they could do.

With this _war_ as that was what it was starting to turn into going on with the intensity it was, they would need to start drafting more troops from the regular army, just to keep back the evil, and halt the panic.

That was part of the reason why he hadn't insisted Harry take a squad with him…he had faith in Harry that he knew what he was doing, under the sarcastic and mildly laid back personality was a determined young man who knew what he needed to do.

Lethbridge Stewart checked his computer, 1 hour 56 minutes to sundown.

Walking through the troops acknowledging their salutes he checked and rechecked his weapons.

The army troops had theirs, the Night Wolf troops that were present had their own.

They didn't have enough, nor the time to train the army troops, and bullets would just as easily kill a wand user, after all wand user's didn't come with bullet proof armour and even if they did, concentrated fire would win out.

Lethbridge Stewart had clipped to the front of his tactical vest a P90, he had a great many clips of ammunition, his S/K-1 by his hip, along with a hand gun, his pistol from the old days had been retired to his office.

The S/K-1 was set, for the moment to Stun, he'd had a brief meeting with his own Night Wolf troops at the possibility of the Order of the Phoenix people turning up. He'd contacted Bambera to try see if Harry out of the woods, but he had yet to awaken, so he couldn't get confirmation that these were _definitely _Phoenix people.

But, and Birmingham had agreed that, at least in theory they were fighting the Death Eaters, and Harry might not be very happy should they shoot down half a dozen of his friends.

That said, if they came, they would be entering a secure area, and while they would take care, there were plenty of troops which had only been briefed in what they needed to know.

Slipping the radio earpiece into his ear he activated the mic.

"Report all sectors." Lethbridge Stewart glanced toward the horizon, the sun was very slowly sinking below as the Earth rotated and they moved away from the sun's gaze.

"_Sector 1 clear."_

"_Sector 2 all clear."_

"_Sector 3 clear."_

"_Sector 4 nothing to report."_

It was just as twilight sunk into night that he saw it, a sudden flash of swirling light just, in the shadow cast by the lights of one of the tanks in sector 3.

He could feel the air change consistency, the slight buzz caused by a wand'r using their magic to detect, in that sector it was mainly army troops also, the Night Wolf troops there would have no doubt…

"_Sector 3 to command…"_

"I've got it Sector 3, Greyhound Leader to Night Wolf troops in sector 2, 3 and 4, converge on challenge tank."

Lethbridge Stewart un-holstered his weapon and ran up joining the few Night Wolf troops, he gestured to them using simply hand commands to form a half circle to storm them, _monitor, then stun._

They all knew extra information gained could be useful, be it from the enemy or…who ever these people were.

Lethbridge Stewart crept around the front of the tank, he would face them front on.

"_Ow…Bill, Moody? Are you sure you charmed the port key properly?"_ Muttered a woman's voice, she sounded agitated.

"_Of course Tonks, I tracked it here…Moody you charmed the portkey…"_

"_That I did lad…and you didn't want to port key into whatever Death Eater stronghold, I set us a dozen or so feet away from the location Bill got." _Lethbridge Stewart could tell that this voice was the 'Moody' that Private Janston had over heard, this man he would need to shoot first.

"_I can smell the dragons…they probably all dead…if they were being kept we'd be able to hear them." _A younger voice said gravely.

"_We've still got to get in, make sure that the Death Eaters aren't using the dragon's bodies for anything, we haven't had any reports of Necromancy, but Voldemort would still be able to do a lot with the dragon body parts…" _Moody again, Lethbridge Stewart noted.

"_Yeah and kit out his troops in dragon hide." _The younger woman 'Tonks'.

"_Moody can you see anything?" _

"_No…Bill…Voldemort must have cast a diffusion charm…that's another reason why we shouldn't attempt to apparate in…you'll end up splinched into over 10 pieces."_

"_I only suggested it." _The Tonks woman exclaimed.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded to the man next to him who crouched away, he counted to 10 whilst listening.

"_We should get moving, any longer and we risk detection, even if the Death Eaters are half awake they'll no doubt make patrols, if they're holding even one dragon." _

Lethbridge Stewart stepped out.

"I think you'll find you've been detected." He said and shot the man with the scars, false eye and leg, he crumpled to the ground in a heap as the light quickly shot from his S/K-1 to the man.

There was a rush of activity and then the 4 wizards were surrounded by 8 trained UNIT Night Wolf personnel, all pointing weapons at them.

The three remain grabbed for their wands.

"Don't." Lethbridge Stewart simply said.

"You're muggles!" One of the red heads exclaimed.

"You're not going in…we have everything under control." General Lethbridge Stewart said sternly gazing at them, the younger red head stared at him.

"You don't understand…bad…bad men are coming…they'll…"

"Bill!" The other man red head hissed at him.

"_Force sighted, making way on foot, eta 5 minutes."_

"We don't have time for you…we won't snap your wands, a sign of good faith, don't come back." He nodded and three of the Night Wolf troops opened fire.

"Stun the older man again. Move them to the outer limits, secure them, make sure their wands are out of reach, we don't need them coming back whilst we've got Voldemort to deal with."

"Sir."

"Return to your positions."

"Greyhound to command centre, Phoenix neutralised."

"_Noted Greyhound, enemy in bound, eta 3 minutes and counting, approaching along main drive."_

"All troops to alert status, standby for main assault."

Around him he could hear tanks revving up ready for the assault, taking aim from via the coordinates being fed out from the command centre.

Lethbridge Stewart made his way to one of the shallow bunkers which had been set up, only one step up from a set of sand bags but lined with a concoction which would absorb many spells thrown their way.

Looking over towards the main gates he could make out a single figure leading a small group.

The he realised the fog rolling in despite the warm night, the cold chill that had come out of no where, the tempreture was falling, and it had nothing to do with a simple spell that the wand'rs were using.

"_Forward teams switch to tracer rounds, fire on the cloaked figures leading assault. All Night Wolf teams, Demmentors in bound."_

As the Dementors approached the gates to factory they were blasted open by a curse from behind them, the gates opened slightly, another curse shot out melting them down to slag before freezing the white hot metal to the concrete below.

The Dementors made their way forwards, Voldemort had brought 8 of them…the muggles would have no defence, and the Dementors _enjoyed _the innocence of a muggle to feast upon.

As the cloaked figures passed the firing threshold, several bullets ripped through their cloak, fired by some of the British army's and Night Wolf's best.

The army were too consumed with taking out the…whatever to be astounded that the figures took several bullets without slowing, but following more…simply screamed into fire…

The scream of the cloaked figure permiated their minds…but that just made the troops more determined to destroy the rest, firing round after round into them, eager to end to freezing mist that was slowly surrounding them.

Lethbridge Stewart pulled out a set of binoculars, the destruction of the Demmentors appeared to be giving Voldemort pause to think, but he saw him motion and the some of the group disappeared while the others strode onwards.

"_Assault on rear of building." _Said the calm voice from the command centre.

"All Challengers open fire, all troops open fire." Lethbridge Stewart barked grabbing for his own P90 and looked through the scope.

There were dull thuds and explosions from behind them as the challengers opened fire on the Death Eaters that were approaching.

In front of him Lethbridge Stewart watched with a satisfied sense of amusement as the Death Eaters struggled to say their spells as faster than speech ammunition was fired at them.

Some of the bullets were even being deflected, into the tanks or the ground, their decreased velocity harming no one.

More spells were flung towards them and the building as the group of Death Eaters pushed their way forwards, many of their number collapsed on the ground as their leader fell back, surrounding himself with his followers as they pushed forwards.

"_Energy drain on jamming field, attempted breach in progress."_

Lethbridge Stewart muttered something to himself as he again tried to shoot down the central figure in all of this, the remaining group had managed to push past the first line of defence, it was now down to the on the ground troops, the tanks couldn't fire without risk of hitting the ground troops.

Lethbridge Stewart wanted to kill Voldemort, despite what the prophecy said, even if he couldn't kill he could wound.

"All squads sector 1 and 2, concentrated fire on central figure. On my mark…" The sound of bullet fire died down for a moment and the group of death eaters rushed forward, but their haste left large gaps in their protection of Voldemort in the circle.

"Mark!" Lethbridge Stewart shouted. Around him all the troops opened fire through any available hole at the central figure.

Bullets ripped out, smashing knee caps, shoulder blades, smashing ribs and puncturing several major organs, after concentrated fire of 2 minutes the central figure collapsed with a hiss of anguish, there was a sudden turn of the group who started firing spells…and then they disappeared in a swirl of light.

"_Sector 3 and 4, enemy has withdrawn."_

"All squads, scout all sectors and outer perimeter for any enemies."

A deafening silence now reigned, aside from the extremely dull hum of the magical jammers, the engines of the tanks now part of the background noise.

"Report, casualties?"

"_Sector 1…and 2…no casualties, request move injured within building."_

"Granted, move all injured with main building."

"_Sector 3, nill casualties sir…"_

"_Sector 4 2 men require immediate attention."_

Lethbridge Stewart recognised the voice as _not _one of his troops, and it was slightly panicked…

"Night Wolf field medics to Sector 4."

"_Confirmed Greyhound Leader."_

--//

_Well there it is, the chapter many people requested, the meeting / battle between Night Wolf, Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix._

_Thanks for reading._


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 29**

'_Initial information suggests that private individual Harry James Potter has removed himself from the ties of Earth on an unknown trajectory…'_

That was what started the initial investigation, a note in General Lethbridge Stewart's inbox.

General Lethbridge Stewart trusted Harry Potter with his life, probably more than that…but he also couldn't ignore what the information started to suggest.

He had put a small research team on it, they were thankfully in the lull between fights, with their attack on Voldemort himself obviously having stalled the Death Eater rampage for the moment.

The dragon dissection was progressing with Night Wolf command's cellars now fully converted into large freezers and beast sized morgue, the work was still continuing inside the _Icy Block _but the army had a contingent there as well as the roating Night Wolf troops keeping watch as the dragons were carefully dissected and transported back to Night Wolf.

Then there was this…

_Craft: Fighter, Bio-technical experimental craft, removed from Night Wolf Command Hanger (Air Division – Barry Davis)._

_Craft currently under the assignment of private individual Harry James Potter, current designation Shadow Blaze._

Lethbridge Stewart noted that they were still working through all the camera footage, searching for Mr Potter, who had well and truly disappeared…quite possibly from Earth.

Rising and gathering up various other reports he walked to the door sparing a final look at the preliminary report before leaving his office for a status meeting.

"What does the blood work say on Voldemort?" Birmingham asked from his place at the large table that accommodated all the heads of the divisions inside Night Wolf Command.

"We've analysed and separated out all the blood samples taken at the Icy Block site." Said Gemma Cranwell who was part of Night Wolf Command's battle forensics division, a relatively new division which more or less crossed over throughout the Research, Sorcery, Medical and Xenology departments. At the end of the table on the wall a large screen showed the various blood samples that had been analysed.

"Of the major blood samples we collected from the main assault group, there were a total of 13 donors inside the gates. We've excluded 4 of those…"

"Why?" Lethbridge Stewart asked glancing at the screen, the results were slightly unfathomable, blood to a soldier was a sign that the battle was either going well, or was not, it was something to clean up and staunch, it was something to remove, but when it came to analysis…

"They're female. Another 3 were excluded given the age." She clicked the image again, and then smiled.

"But even if we hadn't excluded those, we would have recognised Voldemort's blood. Look." She clicked the image again, it was displaying various characteristics of the blood sample, the deep scan results, the spectrographic analysis, the DNA breakdown…and the morphological analysis.

"The sample supports what we know about Voldemort. The DNA is corrupted in an extreme way, he's most definitely not human."

"Coming back from the dead will do that to most people." Doctor Katie Baker, Head Physician within Night Wolf Command muttered.

"Yes, however there are signs of recent development of the genome. The blood itself has some similarities with the sample sent from UNIT HQ." Cranwell continued.

"Mr Potter's blood sample." Lethbridge Stewart added at the questioning look from Baker.

"So, that small sample has replicated itself throughout his system?"

"From the report of the incident it is was a tiny about, it seems that that small amount was cultivated by Voldemort."

"Would that explain his less than human blood?" Birmingham asked curiously.  
"No…We've been comparing the analysis to everything we've got on file, the recent dragon blood work was the closest we've got."

"He's got dragon blood? That stuff is pretty toxic." Baker stated.

"No…but it's close enough to be within the same family as a dragon, its more reptile than mammal, but it's been mixed in suggesting that it was inserted into his system along the same lines as Mr Potter's blood."

"What assumptions have you drawn so far from the sample?"

"There are several other elements within the blood, myself and the others have been running it them through the Sorcery databases, they're various extracts and substances, plus a lot we don't know. It's a collection of stimulants and relaxants, at a guess the series of stimulants and additions to the body would be incredibly painful, if not psychologically destabilising, the relaxants some could put down a horse are present to keep him conscious and lucid."

Lethbridge Stewart digested this information, it wasn't anything outside what they didn't already know, but it was better for understanding the enemy.

"What about the others Gemma, anything aside from the basics?" Doctor Baker asked.

"They all have present in their system the same base line exogenous response to violent trauma, untreated, though most likely repetitive assaults."

"The torture curse." Birmingham said simply.

"Can you send me some samples?" Baker asked.

"My department could do with a copy of that Katie…if this is to continue to go on we'll need to develop a better recovery bar for all personnel, and something to wake people from the aftershock of it, when they're too out of it to do something for themselves." Birmingham said grimly.

Katie nodded writing something down on her computer in front of her.

"What's the status on our magic jammers?" Lethbridge Stewart asked Sarah Palmer, the woman who headed the Utilities and Magical Strategy Devices, she looked grim.

"In one word, bad. Through these assaults, particularly in Northern Ireland and Wales, the jammers covering those assaults have been damaged beyond repair, their core focuses were destroyed and the power packs are worse than useless, it's basically unsalvageable."

"How many are out of commission?" Lethbridge Stewart asked with a frown.

"It would be easier to say how many we _do _have."

"It's that bad?" Andrew Scott, Head of Magical and Non-Magical Integration asked surprised Sarah nodded.

"I want an estimate on how many we can have in the field, and how many we can fix up, pull people from where ever you need." Lethbridge Stewart said.

"Yes sir…we have been keeping spare parts on the shelf for them…but some are just gone, it's going to take months, even with all the people we need." Sarah stated firmly.

"Very well." Lethbridge Stewart admitted. "What's the next bad news?" He sighed reaching for his mug of tea.

"We've been expending a lot of resources, especially over the past 72 hours, not only us but the British Armed forces and UNIT." Mark Fraser, Head of the Research, Information and Logistics division within Night Wolf Command stated after slight break in proceedings.

"On that I'd like to try something…" Lethbridge Stewart looked at James Renwick who had tan odd gleam in his eye.

"What is it?" Birmingham asked curiously.

"The Icy Block factory, we're moving the dragon parts out as quick as we can, but it's a compromised site."

"Yes…" Lethbridge Stewart started slowly.

"I had a look on our records the site wasn't being used for anything…and well…" James paused. "I'd like to set a trap."

"A trap."

"For the Death Eaters, according to Max…" James nodded to Max Robinson, head of Apothecary division.

"According to our pre-lim tests on the dragon blood there's a degree of residue, I've instructed all the gloves and clothing to be kept after each session in sealed containers, we can use that as a lure, it should be enough, with a few additions to make it appear as though we still have a dragon or at least more than one in pieces."

"And you believe you can lure the death eaters to the factory?"

"Yep, I've got a few things lying around that need testing in a battle environment, we clear everyone out…put in some recording equipment and see what happens." James said casually.

"Worst case scenario?" Birmingham asked.

James looked puzzled for a moment, "Nothing happens…and they get away with various used medical supplies, gloves and Max's concoction…which he tells me is like a pepped up version of MSG and smelling salts."

"Very well, but I want an official proposal before I sign off on it…how much damage to the building?"

James shrugged for a second. "Depends how thorough you want me to be…" He said vaguely, Lethbridge Stewart sighed.

"I'll make sure no one needs anything inside the building."

"Any other business…?" Birmingham asked as they approached the end of their meeting.

"There is one thing…as the war with Voldemort wears on…I came across a research project…" Andrew Scott flicked through a pile of older files. "It was listed as an 'Endgame' Project."

"What information could you find?" Lethbridge Stewart asked after a moment, there were a few 'Endgame' Projects on file, they were generally; big or complicated or a 'solve your problems with a large explosion' sort of projects.

"All it says is that it's a 'Project to ultimately disrupt and destroy a wand user's magical power base'. It's head of project is a Professor Gustav Fiodor Timothy Hinton."

Lethbridge Stewart let the name hang in the air, that particular project had been in its early stages when he'd taken over Night Wolf Command, and he had been willing to let it run its course…Unfortunately, Professor Hinton quit put all his research behind and obscure UN security wall and removed himself from UNIT. He'd been informed by Geneva that he would be permanently unreachable.

"The project was…it was designed to be a wide scale attack, isolating and destroying a wand'rs ability to use or manipulate magic, aside from that Professor Hinton refused to tell me, and kept it all in the dark."

"Could you find out sir? If the rating on this is to be believed, we could use it to remove Voldemort's base of operations from play."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Mark has…"

"We're only starting…we're still waiting for accurate position to begin plotting out exactly where the battles occurred then we can start with the Sorcery Division's help plotting it backwards and start coming up with some ideas…"

"Andrew I will look into your project for you…"

General Lethbridge Stewart stuffed his hands further into his coat as they looked around the tundra that they were in.

What they were standing in front of was a bunker that wasn't on any map, it wasn't listed in any official information as far as anything and anyone was concerned it didn't exist.

It had been a left over from the Cold War days, the UN had 'appropriated' it to keep a person or people safe, from or who was never discussed.

Lethbridge Stewart had dug up his old files on all the 'Endgame' Projects, they were mostly unworkable, but not 'worst case scenario' projects.

The worst case scenario plans and projects were an ever growing and developing arm of UNIT, in fact every UNIT base around the world had at least a filing cabinet devoted to worst case scenario plans.

This project….when Professor Hinton had removed himself the research had been reclassified 'No Eyes Only' and then destroyed, the ashes spread around a convenient park, any computer disks and files had been shredded and buried concrete at a large building site, all with the UN's approval, because of some obscure law, which didn't exist any more.

Lethbridge Stewart had had some success, Professor Hinton had agreed to meet him and discuss 'his findings'.

"So this is it Brigadier? When the UN hides people away they do a good job of his." Colonel Jones's voice was muffled behind the coat, like the General her goggles over his eyes and his jacket and snow mask covered his face.

"They didn't hide him away Colonel, _he _chose this location. Is the team set up?"

Jones turned and looked back, their vehicle was sitting back on its wheels, the turret had been released and was free.

The team was small, 4 people from Night Wolf plus Colonel David Jones for this mission which technically didn't exist, the UN had guaranteed that they would leave him alone, and even though they sat outside the usual instructions technically he couldn't order or use any form of coercion to get the information that they wanted.

That is without contravening an unknown and now removed (although not retroactively affecting) law.

Jones received a signal from his team.

"They're all ready, with have a secure zone, the…vehicle is primed should we need a quick escape."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded and looked towards their vehicle once more, it was a 'concept' battle mover that the Northern Highlands Research Facility had built, seemingly just in case. It was a little longer than a standard UNIT Land Rover and about as wide as two of them. What made him 'borrow' it, for a 'field test' was its ability to hover, it had two backwards engineered hover pads, plus chassis enhanced by wood known for its levitation enhancement, plus a _lot _of scanning technology.

All of it incredibly useful considering they were currently standing in the middle of one of the most dangerous and deadly minefields ever constructed.

"Very well, remember…he may be unstable…in fact he may anything…"

"Don't shoot unless you give the word sir."

"If it comes to that Jones." Lethbridge Stewart walked over to the large concrete doors and opened an old panel and pressed a button.

"Yes?" Came a cultured middle European voice.

"General Lethbridge Stewart and Colonel David Jones."

"Of?"

"UNIT, Night Wolf."

"Brigadier didn't I say…"

"You said I could bring one person 'if I was worried about you." Lethbridge Stewart stated.

"Then what about the 4 others patrolling around the perimeter?" Asked the voice accusingly.

"You said nothing about not bringing back up, they won't be coming in with myself and Colonel Jones."

"You know I could remove them as simply as peeling an apple."

Jones looked at the Brig, it wasn't the most used of metaphors.

"Of course, Now Professor Hinton may we come in, or do I have to use some excellent explosives to see how strong they built these old bunkers?" Lethbridge Stewart asked curiously as he removed in his finger from the talk button.

There was a chuckle…slightly odd though from the speaker where ever it was located.

"Of course you could try Brigadier, but this is a nuclear bunker, even a nuclear weapon, that is one big enough to carry around, would do nothing but melt a bit of snow, and all that would accomplish would be leaving you with wet feet, and me with some ice to slip on when I came out to investigate your dead bodies."

There was a pause and Jones tensed.

"Come in, to my abode." The doors in front of them parted and opened with noting more than a crunch as they moved the snow that had piled up out of the way.

"Said the spider to the fly." Jones muttered to himself.

Jones and the Brigadier sat in a study which looked like it had been taken right out of a country estate painting.

From their entrance they had been directed through a series of corridors before being asked to sit and wait.

"Colonel Jones, General Lethbridge Stewart…or should I call you Brigadier, that's what everyone called you back in our Night Wolf days…" Professor Gustav Fiodor Timothy Hinton said, or greeted as he walked in the door.

He was a man of medium height around 175 cm with greying brown hair.

When he turned to look at Lethbridge Stewart and Colonel Jones, that was when the surprises started, it wouldn't be the first surprise of that day.

"Yes, it is shocking…and perhaps I found it shocking when I…but after the first time…it is something to get used to…."

Jones couldn't help but stare at the man before them…it looked…in fact he'd seen it before...something the Death Eaters liked to do occasionally to their victims…but…it wasn't what was different it was what was exactly the same.

"Colonel Jones…of the people who have seen my condition…you seem to be coping rather well…something in your line of work I presume?"

"I really couldn't say…" Jones said casually, Lethbridge Stewart smiled to himself at how casually David Jones was taking the site before him.

"All in the name of my research, my project…I take it that is why you're here?"

"Yes."

"I destroyed all my work, made sure there was no one to follow…it is a significant price to pay…for such a project…" He said casually sitting in front of them.

"There was a…description of sorts…" Jones prompted.

"Oh yes?"

"' a wide scale attack, isolating and destroying a wand'rs ability to use or manipulate magic'" Lethbridge Stewart quoted.

"Ah yes…I didn't think Night Wolf operated that way, it certainly didn't when I left…the wand users had finished their war…we were about research…that's when…" He gestured to his body.

Jones and the Brigadier shared a look.

"What was the project Professor Hinton?" Lethbridge Stewart asked calmly.

"The project…the name of the project was Project: Guillotine." Jones's eyes went slightly wider as the Professor said the name in a silky tone.

"This Project Guillotine…"

"Yes...curious as always Brigadier…it was a project which took advantage of the very natural designs…and mixed them…creating a catalytic mix of creative forces…which rupture and confine an area of land…"

"Right…" Jones couldn't stop himself from muttering.

"Very, very wrong Colonel Jones…that was what made it so…seductive…" He chuckled to himself.

"You know about ley lines?"

"Powerful lines throughout the land, some people can tap into them, move power through them, walk them even on the psychic plane of existence." Lethbridge Stewart stated casually.

"Exactly Brigadier…but you do have to have a pre-disposition to such ability, it can be learnt in order to protect or control yourself…but there must still be a pre-disposition, but I am, of course getting a head of myself…"

"Project Guilliotine…was a project I designed and tested should we ever need to…isolate a power base of the wand'rs…not all their power is routed in their wands…of course a lot of it is, in the lower power and less experienced users this is true…but as they move up in power…that's why Voldemort was such a problem, and the one who worked with the Nazis he knew how to use the power…"

Jones glanced at the Brigadier who just shook his head and continued to stare at the rambling Professor.

"They are most dangerous in a town…or a focal point of a town…usually a large manner house or castle…if they're powerful enough they tie it all in, ley lines, flora and fauna, their 'wards', shielding and everything, it becomes more than a home…a power base if you will to work from." He paused taking a sip of what appeared to be water. "They would further enhance their power by centralising attacks, advancing out in symbols of power, outward and back from their base of operations…"

"How do you know this? When you left Night Wolf we hadn't even begun to analyse their battle tactics, we could hardly even enter their power bases…" Jones exclaimed in query, then had the good grace to look to the Brigadier.

"It is a valid question Professor."

"My research…I took things into my own hands…some field research, some interviewees were very helpful…" He chuckled to himself again once more.

"The project…" Lethbridge Stewart prompted again.

"Many of the average wand user might have forgotten the power in older signs, and symbols, but used properly they can be quite powerful…did you know for instance the power of the Cross…a very powerful ward generator…used in the correct way of course…" He took another sip of his water. "Like wise used in the correct manner, these symbols can be the beginning of their undoing…"

The silence in the room was noticeable mainly because there wasn't any other sound. Except when the Professor started to chuckle once more.

"Sorry…dramatic effect…where was I…? Ah yes powerful symbols…not the only thing to use…in order to truly destroy their power base an attack needed to be made on all levels…on the physical, the ley lines, the wand user's style of magic, other methods of Sorcery…other places…" He took another drink of water. "There weren't any natural psychics, none that would join me in my researchers, they'd all been…well Hamlet Macbeth wasn't the nicest of fellows within UNIT, and after the shut down of his Paranormal Division well they got as far away from him and us…so I took matters into my own hands…I'm not a psychic…but I knew that I wanted to use the ley lines...and other methods…"

"So?"

"I sought Death."

"Death." Jones repeated again. Lethbridge Stewart sat silently.

"Death…there is a…ritual of sorts to allow you to descend…and speak with her…sort of…that's how I got these…" He gestured to his eye and throat…

"So you did do it yourself…" Jones said slowly.

"Oh yes…I made sure I'd be found…a rather interesting concoction swallowed before hand would give my body the shock it would been to bring me out of it…and the blood pool would have been hard to miss, even in those days…"

"Death?" Jones prompted the man who was staring off into space stroking his throat.

"It was me belief in order to manipulate the ley lines…and use the wand'rs power against them I'd need Death's approval…the decent into her world…affects the mind and body…you have to leave everything behind…but it's the backwards way…a psychic in theory can manipulate the ley lines without the journey…but I wanted a method that anyone could use…Macbeth proved that you couldn't trust them…" He suddenly sounded very bitter. "You must sacrifice your senses and your body…the directions that I had were very…" He trailed off. "In any case…I descended…sacrificed what I did…and spoke with death…you know…she spoke…her voice…she said could destroy a brain such as mine…a human brain…but as I'd sacrificed something…she wouldn't keep me there…not forever…" He trailed off again. "She didn't say much…she didn't tell me anything…but I looked into the dark holes that might have been eyes…and I saw pure darkness…then I knew I was in the wrong place…and that we were all headed for darkness…I took it as a sign…"

"Right…" Jones said slowly, Lethbridge Stewart admired him staying calm in the face of a madman.

"I also think you're leading us into death…that maybe I should do to you what I did to myself…so you'll understand…" He was quick, unbelievably quick for a man who had crushed out his own eyes and looked as though he'd attempted to decapitate himself, he was up and across the room grabbing Colonel David Jones's head and holding a knife to it, chuckling again to himself.

"She also said…that I'd have my life and my senses back…for a deal…a deal with…death…" He pressed a knife to Jones's throat.

"Definitely mad." Jones muttered mainly to himself. As he reached to his back, where either the Professor didn't 'see' or didn't know.

"Ah your gun Colonel…now…do you think you can shoot me quicker than I can shoot the Brigadier?" He asked calmly pressing the knife against Jones's throat.

"Probably not, but I can." At that moment and the moments that followed Colonel David Jones of UNIT – Night Wolf was thankful and shocked by several things.

He was thankful that the Brigadier was a good aim, that from an almost impossible angle and at amazing speed had drawn a weapon and shot Professor Hinton through his dead eye sockets, two bullet holes one for each eye, so close he'd heard the bullets whiz by.

The other more shocking thing was in the Professor's death throws he'd whispered to him while all the time grabbing a hold of him, not slumping, not collapsing, despite the taste of death around him.

"_Death is Eternal, she walks everywhere, I have walked in Death's footsteps, I have engaged Death…"_

It wasn't the words, it wasn't even the intention, it was something deeper, something subtler, almost primal that shocked David Jones, something about how the words were spoken to him, the intention seemed of more importance than the words.

The Brigadier moved carefully over to Professor Hinton, prising his stiff fingers away from the knife and pushing the body away from Colonel Jones.

"You alright there David? Colonel Jones?" Lethbridge Stewart regarded him, he wasn't hurt, not in any physical way.

"Yes sir…just a bit of ringing in the ears…"

"What did he say you as he died? Something about death?"

"Sir?"

"He had a slight lisp on the word death…almost as if he were savouring it…" Lethbridge Stewart said slowly. All Night Wolf personnel had advanced anti-hypnosis training but there was sometimes a chance, with the right amount of shock and circumstance to break through that.

"He said to me…'_Death is Eternal, she walks everywhere, I have walked in Death's footsteps, I have engaged Death…_' but…"

"But?" Lethbridge Stewart regarded his officer.

"I think when we get back to base we should get the research department to run it…I don't know…it almost…" He trailed off.

"Almost what David…it's just us…and him." The Brig nodded to the stiff body on the ground.

"It almost frightened me sir…not the words…but…"

"The intent…something more psychological…yes…most likely it was something underlined in the metaphysical method that he spoke, some sort of underlying grammatical structure…"

"Sir?" Jones sounded slightly puzzled.

"You're right we'll talk to the research when we return…Now…we search this base for anything…useful…"

Lethbridge Stewart sat in their concept carrier as the hover pads hummed with power lifting them off the ground and over the extremely powerful and more than slightly sensitive minefield.

In the small cargo area at the back of the carrier were a couple of boxes of documents, plans, ideas and details of projects and various other things that the Professor pursued both during his time with UNIT and following his seclusion away her.

Some of it might be useful, some of it, perhaps not.

What was clear was that they would need to pursue his research with care, if not they may end up like him…

--//

_I'm not quite sure where I got the majority of this chapter._

_It was going to be a 'exposition' chapter (or that's how I thought of it) for some of the things that Harry has been getting up to (that will be explored further next chapter)._

_A lot of the stuff that Professor Hinton goes on about will be explained further in chapter 30 (which will hopefully be a chapter of some action)._

_Thanks for reading._


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 30**

General Lethbridge Stewart sat in the meeting room with the researchers that he'd assigned to investigate Harry Potter's 'disappearance' using UNIT technology and information.

Only he and Birmingham were present, everyone else was still preparing for their assignment latter that week.

"Harry Potter, here after known as the subject…following his recovery and release from UNIT UK under the command of Brigadier Winifred Bambera, he was escorted to Grimmauld Place London."

Lethbridge Stewart looked up at the screen displaying a few photos of a dark looking close in the outer suburbs of London.

"The subject was then appeared a day later inside the Gibson Desert Research Facility." The images on the screen switched to security camera footage from inside a science lab. There was a ripple as though a gust of wind went through the room, sending papers and maps and other things flying everywhere.

From the 'centre' of the maelstrom a figure appeared swaying slightly.

It was Harry Potter, to the side of the main screen zoomed in close ups of his face and hands appeared, his hair was laying limp and his face had a sheen of sweat, his hands were shaking as he riffled through the papers and star maps and whatever else research was in the room.

He grabbed a handful of the papers and then disappeared, a veritable small hurricane following in his wake.

"A catalogue of the subject's movements and a catalog of the missing research material and star charts reveals that the subject took information pertaining to the location of the Q40 element."

"Q40?" Birmingham asked.

"The element necessary for construction of the jump gates and jump engines, it's one of the things we scan for…the Gibson Desert is working on probably systems, so we can build the jump gate construction and transport ship…" Lethbridge Stewart answered before the researchers could.

"Yes sir…"

"How many systems did Harry take information to?"

"The subject removed information pertaining to a set of 10 possible systems, this number increases to 20 when including systems currently outside the 'close' range of the hyperspace window generators."

"Define close?" Birmingham asked once more.

"Around 5 days at full power is our close range." Lethbridge Stewart answered again. "Even with a list of 10 that's still too many to search."

"Sir…the subject was then observed inside within Night Wolf Command stores…" The images switched showing Harry in the same condition arriving and pulling out his trunk and throwing in several packets of MREs.

"Estimates based on the footage suggest the subject taking enough sustenance for one month and 20 days, based on a three meal ration."

Birmingham stared as Harry appeared to say something before disappearing again.

"What did he say to himself?"

"Analysis of the footage suggests he says 'water' before he departs."

"Logical if he's thinking about going some where…foreign." Birmingham postulated.

"The subject then move to the Night Wolf Command Hanger, their the subject appears to speak with the bio-craft designation _Shadow Blaze_, given the location of the _Shadow Blaze _craft we were only able to obtain partial angels on their conversation."

The screen again changed showing three separate angels of the hanger that the cameras covered, the place where the Shadow Blaze was kept the Brigadier knew was an alcove that wasn't used often, until Harry had come along they hadn't had much luck or use for the partially organic, sentient craft that the scientists within Night Wolf had grown / constructed.

"After a ten minute conversation the subject accessed the craft, the craft then departed through the main entrance of the Hanger."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded to himself and flicked through the report trying to remember that day's ship positions.

"Where there any ships in orbit or within scanning range when Harry left?"

"Yes sir, the Australian Space Core Ship _Flinders _ was entering the atmosphere on approach for Gibson Desert Research Facility for unloading of cargo. Their scans confirm the _Shadow Blaze _leaving orbit and engaging a hyperspace window generator. The direction is unknown…"

"Any further information?"

"No sir, further detail on all activities of the subject is inside my report."

"Thank you Captain."

"Sirs." She saluted and left the room promptly.

"Well?" Lethbridge Stewart asked Birmingham.

"She's very thorough." Birmingham said glancing through the thick report.

"That's why I asked her. What do you think about her research and report?"

"Do I believe that Harry has run?"

Lethbridge Stewart stayed quiet on that proposition.

"No."

"Neither…Harry I don't believe would do that, he has always been ready and willing to see this through to the end." Lethbridge Stewart said thinking of their sometimes brief but straight to the point conversations he'd had with Harry Potter.

"I concur, but the information here does suggest that he could be making a run for cover. Just to play devil's advocate." Birmingham tapped his folder as he rose from his chair to pace around the room.

"Harry has been suggesting that he has a plan, we can only hope that he returns to Earth soon…" Lethbridge Stewart said slowly.

"Do you think he's run?" Birmingham asked curiously.

"Do you Birmingham?"

"No, Harry knows the prophecy, he may not like it, I can't imagine anyone who would like it, but if he was going to make a run for it, he wouldn't do it this way…"

"No…but I still had to follow procedure and investigate it…"

"You know…he technically hasn't done anything wrong…" Birmingham offered.

"Why?"

"Because he technically isn't with UNIT, or Night Wolf…he's an independent…so he doesn't know the procedure for this sort of thing…" Birmingham offered with a knowing smile.

"Yes…I had thought of that Birmingham…now that we've got that out of the way…what of our other project?"

--//

General Lethbridge Stewart stood in a small dug out against a hill, he pulled his hands out of the warmth of his coat and looked through his binoculars once more down at the small town the according to most surveys stopped existing at some point in the late 60s.

**1 Week 2 Days Ago**

"General. We have The Location." Lethbridge Stewart could hear the capital letters in the two words, and understood the significance of them.

"Well Rick?" He said slightly wearily, he had after all just finished briefing his superior, Mark Fraser, head of Night Wolf's research division on the details of his and Jones's venture with Professor Hinton.

"Birmingham's in the meeting room…"

Birmingham was in the meeting room along with Sarah Palmer head of Utilities and Magical Devices and James Renwick from Weapons research.

"Brigadier…according this group we have a location."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded sitting into his chair and looking at the screen, they needed this piece of information, otherwise they would be…firing blind.

The image on the screen showed a map of the UK displaying all the attacks which had occurred; the Dover attacks, the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland attacks and many of the other attacks that happened over that nigh such as the attacks on the Icy Block factory.

"My department and James's we've been out since the attacks plotting the arrival of each of the Death Eater groups, going back and tracking the magical alignments in the ground right up to the weather patterns on the night of the attacks." Palmer said as she clicked a button in front of her.

"We've used an algorithm designed to estimate various things such as apparition ability and portkey accuracy and tied that in with what we already know about how the wand'rs ability to matter transport works." James said with a hint of excitement.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, impressed.

"Once we put all of that information into a couple of our computers, along and removed any of the likely sites."

"Likely?" Lethbridge Stewart asked.

"Places such as central London, Hogwarts castle, Hogsmede Village, places which might skew our results just because of their intense relationship between various sources and such." Birmingham replied from where he was standing at the end of the table.

"So?" Lethbridge Stewart gestured questioningly.

"Here…track back to a certain location, north of London." Palmer said as she pushed a button; on the map lines illuminated and showed them tracking back to a small town in England.

"What is it?" Lethbridge Stewart asked.

"It's a town that fell off all maps some time in the late 1960s, we can't be certain when. The main town is called Greater Hangleton, Little Hangleton ceased being of anyone's concerns in the late 1960s, according to our research it was 'quarantined' and forgotten about." Rick said.

"Quarantined…by who?"

"No information exists, it's in a remote area around 32 kilometers from Greater Hangleton. We haven't tried for a more detailed survey…"

"No, this is excellent work…so you're sure Voldemort's base is at Little Hangleton."

Palmer looked slightly worried. "While we didn't do a detailed survey…we did get UNIT London to do a drive by survey, just to test the waters…"

Lethbridge Stewart wasn't sure whether to commend her initiative or criticize Palmer for a lack of clarity in this regard.

"And?"

"As soon as he got within the town's limits 'intense feeling of cold, an almost primal want to leave…' It goes on like that, he observes some people dressed in cloaks before he leaves. He was one of the men who backed up Bambera in the vampire clean up."

"Alright, but together a mission to set up observation, I will get on MI5 to set up observation on Greater Hangleton, there is most likely there are a few people maintaining a watch just in case of any large build up."

**1 Week Ago**

"You're certain?"

"Please General, my people have been in this for a long time, they know when someone is being manipulated and being paid off…"

"I would have thought it was one of the other Harry."

"It is a strange world. General."

"That it is…thank you Harry." Lethbridge Stewart took the report slipping into the bag he was carrying on his way to another, slightly trickier meeting.

"And my people?"

"Can you keep them there for the next fortnight…after that…there shouldn't be any…large problem with Hangleton."

"I'll want an explanation one of these days Alistair."

"Perhaps Harry, perhaps." They came to a stop at an unassuming door inside Thames House, this was another favor that Lethbridge Stewart had asked Harry Pearce of, a 'secret' meeting with the Prime Minister, not the easiest thing to do.

"Thank you Harry." Lethbridge Stewart walked in where the Prime Minister of Great Britain was waiting in a comfortable study.

"General Lethbridge Stewart…your note suggested it was urgent…I'm guessing not aliens…they don't give warnings…is it…the wizard problem?" He said after a moment, he was slightly less paranoid, not that he had jammers protecting him and his family, and allowing his to be cut off from the wand'rs world.

"Yes…I have request…a plan as it were to take care of Voldemort's base of operations…"

15 minutes later Lethbridge Stewart had finished explaining the gist of what he had planned.

He or rather Mark Fraser hadn't worked out many of the kinks which might stall his plan…but he still needed permission to do it…after all you couldn't…

"This is a…are you sure it will eliminate this Voldemort?"

"No." Lethbridge Stewart said simply.

"What?!" The Prime Minister exclaimed.

"However it will give Voldemort cause for a re-think, and we think give us enough time to reassess our methods of attack…" And for Harry to come back with his plan…not that Lethbridge Stewart said the second part.

"During this current wave of attacks they were all operated out of Little Hangleton, this is the same with any other terrorist cell…we are simply annexing their base of operations…"

"It's a little bit more than that Lethbridge Stewart what about the normal people in this town…"

"As you'll see from our survey and MI5's investigation Little Hangleton had not existed in any official capacity since the mid 1960s, there is no electricity, water or sewerage connected to the town, in fact all services bypass it in a wide berth…which has cost a lot in the past and with the upgrade going through later this year…"

The Prime Minister was nodding.

"Yes, Yes I'm sure, an MP mentioned it some time ago. But General, this plan…the residual pollution alone, do you know the long term effects?"

"If you'll see in my…"

"No, General, I'll sign off on this…but I want UNIT's guarantee that it will clean up the site back to…whatever it was before these…wizards took over…"

Lethbridge Stewart almost said 'anything else'?

"And I want your personal guarantee that this business is going to be over before 12 months."

"You know I can't give that guarantee Prime Minister."

"I think you do Lethbridge Stewart. This is as you've said only the first stage, all I'm asking is for a personal guarantee that Voldemort will not be party to any attacks after 12 months. Your word of honor."

"Very well." Lethbridge Stewart barely paused as he agreed, he didn't know how he would, but he had knew that the final battle was fast approaching.

**6 Days Ago**

"Brigadier…these plans…"

"You've had enough time to go over them Mark?" Lethbridge Stewart asked calmly of Mark Fraser one of the people from Night Wolf's research division.

"They're insane, I can't believe anyone tried it."

"You got my files and the secure documents?" Lethbridge Stewart asked calmly though after reading exactly what Professor Hinton had got into it had…worried him slightly.

"Yes…"

"Yes?" Lethbridge Stewart was hoping for more than an unsure affirmative.

"I've had my division, and some people from Magical Utilities, Apothecary, Sorcery, Weapons, Weapons Integration…"

"Basically everyone Mark."

"Yes…We think we can do it…but we're going to have to bring in a few people…and it's going to anything but safe."

"Who am I going to have to call? And will it work?" Lethbridge Stewart asked sighing and breathing in the cool air that they were walking around in outside Night Wolf Command, he'd needed after a day and night in London to walk around and stretch his legs in the fresh and cool morning air.

"We'll need the RAF for the initial run, artillery on the ground either or both from UNIT and the Army, ground troops on all sides to go in after secondary attack…and we'll need four people from UNIT – Psi Research."

Lethbridge Stewart was nodded along with his requests, he knew it was going to be a long one but…the last name.

UNIT – Psi research was re-assembled just after Lethbridge Stewart had taken command of Night Wolf.

It was composed of some of the people that Hamish Macbeth had assembled to the defunct UNIT Psychic Division.

However where Hamlet Macbeth had pursued his own agenda the Psi Research was more about research and understanding…although there was the understanding that they would help UNIT in times of chrisis, which the accepted fully and totally, in exchange they were provided materials, information and help in training their powers.

**4 Days Ago**

Lethbridge Stewart stepped out of the transmat area with 4 people, dressed…quite casually.

He was thankful that there had been a ship in orbit to act as a relay point between Night Wolf Command and UNIT – Psi Research which was located in the south island of New Zealand.

The four were very proficient and had calmly ready the proposal, as had the others before he'd arrived to accompany them, they could, they had assured him use the ley lines for their purposes…without going mad, which they had explained quite calmly and clearly to him one of the problems with 'just diving in with no preparation…or protection'.

**3 Days Ago**

"Yes…I had thought of that Birmingham…now that we've got that out of the way…what of our other project?"

"Everything is on schedule, I have my department sorted out, we'll be working in teams of 3 traversing the hypotenuse between the Psi people and working our way inwards…Palmer has delivered two of the smaller jammers to the RAF and she's working with them to get them fitted into two harriers as we speak."

"Good and they've been briefed?"

"Earlier today."

"Good. Apothecary; has Max kitted out everyone?"

"They're still packing all the tactical vests with their mix, our covert investigation in so far has confirmed presence of Demmentors patrolling the outer most limits of Little Hangleton, so Max is packing in some extra cacao to ward them off, he's said it's still experimental but in theory…"

"In theory is what we're working this whole operation on Birmingham." Lethbridge Stewart leaned back closing his eyes for a moment.

"Brigadier…Alistair?"

"What Birmingham?"

"When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?"

"Last night…" Birmingham looked at his friend. "Fine two nights ago, there's been too much going on, I grabbed doctor's orders 5 hours sleep last night…"

"At home?"

"No…Doris understands."

"She won't if you're sloppy from lack of sleep, go home, I can cover until tomorrow morning…and you're going to need some good rest especially in 3 days…so now while it's all quiet, before we start moving out and organising people."

Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart closed his eyes once more trying to ignore the werewolf before him who thought he was right too much of the time.

"Brigadier…do I have to knock you out and levitate you home?" Birmingham said amused. "Or just apparate you home…"

"You'll find that a little harder than the last time you tried that…"

"Well then I'll get you to the gate and then just shove you up the path, I'm sure Dorris has seen wilder things than her husband levitating."

Lethbridge Stewart tried to think of an argument…such as the mountains of requests to organise, the masses of things the arrange for their assault…but then…Birmingham could be very dedicated to a task, and just as devious.

"Fine Birmingham…"He growled as he rose from the chair.

**1 Day Ago**

Lethbridge Stewart sat inside their base came, around 30 kilometers from Little Hangleton.

Their base camp wasn't exactly small, comprising of 8 tanks which would begin to move into position later the next day in preparation for the night assault.

There was also more than 3/4 of the personnel from Night Wolf Command for this operation, many of whom would be moving out during the following day for their own targets the following night.

They would all be working together in to pull this plan off.

--//

General Lethbridge Stewart walked over to their point of contact just outside the wards and over to Jane, one of the people from the Psi Research.

"Can you feel her?"

"Of course…but it is like…trying to hear under water…" She said softly.

They stood south of Little Hangleton, right on the compass line, on the opposite side stood Valerie between them they would manipulate the ley lines…priming them.

On the other side standing at the East gazing West was Birmingham in a similar position.

They together would act as anchors for the Psi experts, who weren't just telepaths, but so much more…

They were waiting for 'the right time' as Miranda had said when Lethbridge Stewart had asked at the previous night's meeting.

"I believe you should start your sorcerers now Brigadier."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, they would need the sorcerers to begin work to bring down the wards to allow them access to the main thoroughfare of the ley lines.

Which would in turn allow them to be primed with their power to bursting point, the air strikes would…light the fuse…and soon hopefully Little Hangleton would be as far as the wand users were concerned dead…

"Greyhound Leader to all units, begin attack, repeat begin attack." He changed the frequency. "Greyhound Leader to jumpers, prepare for assault, attack in first stages."

"_Confirmed Greyhound Leader."_

Around the outskirts of the town where they couldn't gain access to, Sorcerers and specialist Apothecaries all stood working their craft over the barriers that were in place, before them it shifted colours, reacting, fighting their attacks, their diffusion attempts.

But still they pressed on.

Lethbridge Stewart could feel the air warming in front of them, the wards before them shifting through the colour spectrum, away from the invisible power that it had been slowly through.

He could smell on the air the scent of burning herbs, of substances specially brewed to allow the wielder to punch a hole through, to infest the tie points of the wards, he could see the wards red shift all the way to and past infrared.

Then there was a noise like thunder, that was the cue.

"It's time Brigadier." Miranda stepped forward to the point she had chosen out, on the opposite side Valerie was doing the same guarded by some of Night Wolf's best people.

The same was happening with Birmingham, no radio call was necessary…they didn't need it.

The Brig gently put a hand on Miranda's shoulder as she opened her hands and started muttering to herself…or possibly to her friend on the other side.

Even at this early stage Lethbridge Stewart could feel it, the power building up from somewhere behind…and around him…it was intense…it felt like the air was buzzing, filled with static…though something more…something greater.

"Almost there…almost there…it's so powerful…it's so…bright…I can see why he chose this place…it's so powerful…so birght…." Miranda was muttering to herself…unbeknownst to the Brigadier Valerie was also saying the same thing, but she wasn't muttering it, she was saying it, calmly to herself as some sort of release and reassurance against the intense bright rivers of power the threatened to over power her, drag her down, past the brightness that would make her want to rip her eyes from her sockets…and join death…just to see and feel the feeling and make the feeling consume her.

Miranda could feel all the power, power she was holding back with her mind, the flow was greater than…than she didn't have anything to compare it to, it was like holding back the ocean paper back book…it was so intense, so…amazing…it was also quickly approaching critical mass, they were approaching the point of no return…even now she could let it go and dissipate…but in a few more minutes the ties along the ley lines would turn becoming controlled flows to dams holding it in and topping it up…

She could feel the other points, all long the most powerful magnetic points of North, South, East and West…they were approaching the same point…when they all reached critical mass they would have less the 30 seconds to begin the attack, or else the energy would explode in every direction, most likely blowing a hole in the side of Britain rather than spreading it out and destroying this…perverted town.

"Now Brigadier, call the attack now…" She ground out slowly, her voice low and deep, strangled.

The harrier jump jets rose, slightly unsteadily out of their positions, the would be flying from North East to South West and South East to North West, each dropping a collection of air to ground missiles…

They were slightly wobbly given the height they were flying and the high amount of magical interference still left in the air, though the pilots had been assured by the nice woman from Night Wolf that their aircraft 'probably' wouldn't fall out of the sky.

Which was good, considering the altitude they had been ordered to fly at was only slightly higher than most 3 storey buildings.

Gaining their needed altitude they began their attack run.

Lethbridge Stewart stared out across the town as there was a roar of fighter engines and a steady thump followed by a large explosion and a rumble across the ground as the ground the air missiles attacked their targets.

When they each had hit their last target it would hopefully 'ignite'.

Miranda was swaying nervously, they would hang on to the ley lines, the power until the last bomb was dropped…and then…then they would see…and ramp up their barriers as quickly as they could.

As soon as the fighters had begun their attack all hell had broken loose inside Little Hangleton…self-levitating furniture stopped, multiple people splinched themselves…and the floo stopped, giving several people third degree burns…

But they could still use magic…for the moment.

Mirnanda braced herself as the final bombs fell from the planes as they tore away from the towns on their South West and North West trajectories.

The final two bombs dropped and the power exploded along the ley lines…a huge mushroom cloud of magical energy erupted from the town, bright reds and greens mixed as the energy rose up, the in of air pulling many of the tanks towards the town…while this exact effect hadn't been imagined, there had been postulated some sort of after affect. The tank commanders's orders were to; should this happen, open fire on the town, just in case there were any hostiles remaining.

8 tanks positioned just away from the North South East and West lines began opening fire as they were dragged towards…and then the magical energy, the air blew back, turning to dust the Demmentors attempting to flee, pulverising the giants, ogres and remaining few vampires in the woods around Little Hangleton and rendering the entire town of Little Hangleton dead to magic.

Birmingham pulled himself up, and tested his magic…like him many of the Night Wolf sorcerers were testing their abilities…they had protection against what they'd just done…but they needed to see…there was a collective sigh of relief…as he been theorised the effect was only on those inside the target area, any blow back had dissipated upon hitting their areas.

Lethbridge Stewart helped Miranda up and they looked down at the town, there was still visible energy and the tanks had paused in their attacks for a moment as the dust, smoke and energy cleared.

The town was…destroyed…in fact there was only some rubble which had probably been houses, before the tank fire.

"Well…if this is what happens when you calmly plan something Brigadier, I don't want to see you when you're angry." Miranda said nervously though exhausted.

Unfortunately for Night Wolf, Voldemort had been in France, 'negotiating' with some allies to replace the recruits he had lost so far…but he would never return to Little Hangleton, no wand using wizard would, not by their magic.

--//

_Well, that's chapter 30._

_A nice big chapter, where I topped my last 'action chapter' of a couple of dragons down…by…Blowing up Little Hangleton._

_Admittedly I did think twice about writing it this way…but narratively it works as it places Voldemort on the defensive foot, which means he's more likely to bargain his way out of his situation. (Not with 'muggles' but with Harry Potter, as he views it his rival)._

_Harry will return in chapter 31._

_Thanks for reading._


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 31 – Maddening Revelations**

Alistair Lethbridge Stewart relaxed in the cool afternoon breeze that came after a particularly hot day.

He was sitting in the agora, part of the internal courtyard at Night Wolf Command, he was sitting and relaxing on the orders from head of the Apothecary Division…and Birmingham's suggestion.

The reason was the same as why he had a tall much of a…concoction created by the Apothecary division.

Even now a couple of days later…he still felt a slight buzz…a vibration…an after shock from their attack on Little Hangleton.

There had been a slight possibility of this happening, but Max Robinson had assured them that a week or so of a specially designed 'food plan' would get everyone back to their regular selves.

Lethbridge Stewart sipped another portion of his…drink, it didn't taste that bad, a little bit of herbs with something citrusy, though he was pretty sure that wasn't even the half of it, knowing the apothecary division and Birmingham there was probably animal, vegetable and mineral in the…drink.

Suddenly the laptop in front of him flashed red, announcing something urgent for his attention.

Hitting a button it brought the message to the forefront of the screen.

_Attention: Craft on sensors entering Earth space, initial scans suggest it conforms to missing craft designation Shadow Blaze…_

The images that followed were of real time vision from the ASCS Flinders, it showed the various detectable things from the long range scanners it was the Shadow Blaze; a small black craft.

_Continuing scan concludes ship will enter atmosphere in 2 minutes._

Lethbridge Stewart hit the open comms button and a voice came through clearly.

"_Should we intercept the craft General?"_

"Negative captain, ship will return to Night Wolf Command." Probably. Lethbridge Stewart thought silently to himself. "Do not engage."

"_Sir._"

Lethbridge Stewart allowed himself a moment to finish…the whatever it was and rose from the chair and walked over to the phone on the outer wall.

"Get a team down to the hanger, arrival of ship immanent…it's Harry…probably."

Alistair walked calmly to the meeting room, knowing Birmingham would most likely be there, he would have got a similar message as he did about the arrival of Harry Potter, or at least the ship that had 'befriended' him, for lack of a better term.

"The ship is approaching the atmosphere, _Flinders _has got it on scanners." Birmingham said as the Brig walked in, he was standing looking at the screen showing the Earth.

"Should be breaking atmosphere in 30 seconds."

The ship glided across the image…and then disappeared.

"Where'd it go?" Lethbridge Stewart said suddenly as he stared at the empty image save for the image of the Earth.

"Oh…" Birmingham leaned over to the table and hit a button bringing up images of the hanger, a group of video images from various points in the hanger appeared.

"There, far right, just near the exit." Alistair said gesturing.

"Focusing…it's a fair distance from the entrance to command. Our team isn't going to get there…"

"Is it Harry? I don't Birmingham want to have to explain that I let an alien in…" Lethbridge Stewart said calmly.

Birmingham muttered something and zoomed into the canopy, it…removed it self, or dissolved or slid back or something, he wasn't sure and a person who was most definitely Harry Potter, looking better than the previous images of him, though a little…bed regaled climbed out.

He seemed to take a pause to take some deep breaths before reaching in grabbing…something and disappeared.

A moment later the team arrived.

"Maybe we should ask him to join Night Wolf, he's certainly got some good skills." Birmingham said casually.

"It had crossed my mind Birmingham, you've helped far people from the Sorcery world that myself, will we be doing him a favour or an injustice?" Alistair reclined slightly in the chair.

Birmingham walked along the length of the wall for a moment.

"He probably already knows more than the average recruit, he's been in the library and not just for information pertinent to his situation…" Birmingham trailed off.

Lethbridge Stewart raised an eyebrow at the silence.

"I don't think Harry knows how to do nothing, if anything we will have to push him on leave."

"So you've thought about it?"

"I know how driven people work." Birmingham said looking at the Brigadier. "After Voldemort is sorted out…" Birmingham trailed off again.

"He'll have a small break, enough to take in what is happening, make sure those he cares about are ok, and then after working towards his goal…he'll look for something else to do…" Birmingham smiled at the Brigadier. "After all that's what I'd do." Lethbridge Stewart muttered to himself.

The following day Lethbridge Stewart was looking at the new revisions of the amended agreements for various powers, armed forces and other situations which Night Wolf Command might need in the future, there had been a further push at their last meeting in Geneva to outsource more of their parts for their space craft; in Australia they already had a relationship with certain companies who had agreed to the Official Secrets Act to produce certain parts for them. But soon there would be a time in the future when they would need main industry to assist in the production of their space craft systems rather than doing it all 'in house', it was for the moment only in the initial planning.

They had all agreed both within the Night Wolf at Geneva and UNIT that any sort of disclosure to the world was many, many years away that currently there were still to many unknown factors to risk such a sizeable effect on the world.

Alistair looked up from his reports as his computer beeped, announcing that someone had materialised in the corridor outside his office, not the sort of materialisation which would set off alarms and bring the teams armed to the teeth to eliminate a potentially hostile intruder, this was fortunately the _other _sort of materialisation that he had been waiting for.

A moment later Harry Potter knocked and then entered General Lethbridge Stewart's office.

"Brigadier…" He said with a smile, looking much better off than he had previously.

"I have a report here; you were at the Gibson Desert Research Facility more than two weeks ago." Lethbridge Stewart tapped his keyboard and on the larger screen on the wall showed a looped playback of Harry appearing, papers swirling around, grabbing something and disappearing.

Harry at least had the manners to look slightly ashamed.

"Harry, explain."

Harry held up a folder which appeared to be full of various reports, maps and whatever else.

"Got a folder." He said as if that explained his absence from Earth for the past 15 or so days. "If you can get Birmingham I will explain…" He trailed off a slight look of worry passing across his face for a moment. "Just don't call me crazy when I do." Harry added helpfully.

Lethbridge Stewart picked up the phone hitting the Sorcery Division's extension.

A minute or two later Birmingham walked in.

"You're looking better Harry. Been working yourself to the limit?" Birmingham asked casually as he sat himself down in his usual chair opposite the Brigadier.

Harry tilted his head almost considering the inquiry.

"The camera footage, you looked pretty wrung out." Birmingham offered.

"Yes…I worked it through…Brig could I use your comp?" Harry asked nervously holding up a memory stick. "Just need to display some stuff…could you…umm sit over there with Birmingham." He gestured so they had their full attention on the main screen on the wall.

"Very well Harry." Lethbridge Stewart rose while Birmingham just raised an eyebrow at the Brigadier who just shrugged glancing at Harry Potter.

Harry appeared to be flicking through scans from a ship, just not the conventional ASCS or RSCS ships, he finally settled on one scan.

"This is a system about 10 days away using a HWG, a hyperspace window generator." He said casually as though someone were talking about the weather.

"Harry…did you do there…alone?" Lethbridge Stewart asked slowly of the young man before him, who simply shrugged.

"Yes." He held up his hand. "Just bare with me before you start making noises." He paused seemingly composing himself…or waiting for the argument which didn't come. Birmingham and Lethbridge Stewart were more interested as to why he potentially risked his life travelling out into deep space than berating him for doing so. "For a while I've been thinking about what to do about Voldemort…I think I've come up with a way."

"A way that involves a star system 10 days away, using I'm assuming that Shadow Blaze's drive which might I remind you Harry is supposedly faster than our ships…"Alistair felt he needed to remind Harry of this, sometimes even he and others within Night Wolf forgot what sort of distances they were dealing with out there in space.

"Yep." Harry said acknowledging the fact, but continued. "I got it from cross referencing various sources…it has only two planets and is surrounded by a radiation field, it's well hidden…one of the planets has an amount of the element used for the jumpgate construction at it's core."

Lethbridge Stewart's eyebrows both raised at the same time in surprise, this was certainly a good piece of information, even a small amount of the Q40 element would enable them to construct several jump engines or jump gates.

"I'm assume, for now Harry that you didn't go out there for 20 days just out of curiosity." Birmingham asked. Harry smiled nervously…or slightly madly, a man with a plan sort of smile.

"No…my plan is a little…audacious…'the power he knows not'…something no one can wield directly…" He paused chuckling slightly. "The mineral is at the core so you would need to strip away all the outer layers of iron to get to it…" Harry said changing subject slightly.

"Harry what are you going to do?" Birmingham said slowly trying to get Harry back on his train of thought.

Harry seemed to shake himself, almost like a bird coming out of the water.

"I want to use the transmats to dematerialise Voldemort, and then hold him, carry him to this system and then…" Harry paused to take a large breah, Birmingham wondered for the half second if he was doing it for dramatic effect, but concluded that he was probably just a little bit nervous, he'd obviously been planning this…whatever it was plan for some time.

"I want to blow up a sun." Birmingham stared at Harry Potter for a few seconds.

"I've thought about this for quite a while and…" Birmingham was trying to drink a glass of water and swallowed it the wrong way.

"Harry that's…an interesting plan…" He managed to cough out.

"How do you propose to achieve it Harry?" Lethbridge Stewart asked calmly, Birmingham turned and stared at his friend beside him.

Harry stopped for a moment, faltering slightly, as though he hadn't expected such an easy acceptance of his plan.

"By using something like a missile, or something that will survive the extreme temperatures and making it a portkey on a timer, when fired into the sun and then activated, it will remove a portion of the sun's mass it doesn't have to be far, thus making it unstable and causing it to blow…I'll drop Voldemort as close to the blast radius as I can and then get out of there before the sun goes nova." Harry sat down opposite them pouring himself a glass of water, seemingly savouring it.

"Presumably when the sun blows up the planet with the element is far enough away to be stripped of its outer layers without harming the element?" Lethbridge Stewart asked generally.

"According to Shadow Blaze's calculations." Harry stated.

"Interesting Harry…I understand your need to research this…had you simply told me you wanted to blow up a sun I would…" Lethbridge Stewart paused trying to think of what he would have done. "I'm not sure." He looked at Birmingham who appeared to have recovered from the initial surprise of Harry's plan. "Birmingham what do you think?"

"Harry…it's unbelievable…it's…I don't know…it could work…" Birmingham admitted and then added. "I suppose…although I'm not sure what's strong enough to survive a journey into the sun."

Harry just nodded to them, or himself.

"Well…I'm glad you didn't call me insane…" Harry muttered to himself once more.

"In theory your plan is…agreeable Harry…" Lethbridge Stewart started. "You have my approval…"

Lethbridge Stewart went on to explain to Harry in vague detail the trouble Voldemort had been causing around Britain.

"And while I share no love you the UK Ministry of Magic, a stable government in much easier to predict than an unstable one." Birmingham added.

"Getting rid of him once and fall all, with no chance of returning is also a point on the side of your plan." The Brig added. Harry nodded.

"That's why I needed something final and total, I know a simple spell or whatever isn't going to fix it, it didn't work the first time so…"

"Harry you're going to have to stick around for a while, explain this plan to everyone at Night Wolf, work out some scenarios, a plan and the beginnings of a report for me to take to Geneva." Lethbridge Stewart stated to Harry Potter, who nodded and accepted easily.

Later that evening after Harry had left Birmingham and Lethbridge Stewart were alone in his officer once more.

"So what do you seriously think?" Lethbridge Stewart asked Birmingham.

"It's an audacious plan." Birmingham said sipping his drink.

"But?"

"But it might just work, isn't that why you gave the go ahead to him?"

Lethbridge Stewart nodded slowly.

"Conventional thinking isn't going to remove Voldemort, that's been to our benefit fighting him in so far, but Voldemort is something else, and as Harry is governed by the Prophecy, then he would need something just as unconventional to finally destroy Vodemort with, and while the plan may be…unusual."

"To put it lightly Alistair."

"You still put your weight behind it Birmingham."

"Yes…Harry is convinced, and as you say an unconventional plan…and blowing up a star is certainly unconventional." He chuckled.

--//


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 32**

Lethbridge Stewart stared at the paperwork in front of him, both electronic and physical paperwork.

Blowing up a sun wasn't something your casually mentioned and expected it to just go away.

He was keeping it 'In-house' until he had all the facts to go to Geneva, Harry's initial plan 'to blow up a sun' was ambitious, and perhaps he'd been too willing to go along with it…but then again it wasn't as though he was trying to evacuate London for weeks on end, Lethbridge Stewart was pretty sure the Prime Minister wouldn't let him do that nowadays.

On the top of his pile of papers that he'd just finished reading was the beginnings of a plan, or at least a starting point, Harry had visited Professor Tegan Vleugal down in the Gibson Desert Research Facility, he'd sent her a brief memo to expect Harry and a (very) brief outline of his proposal.

Harry had met with her and they'd come up with…an idea.

"This is going to be a trap…" Lethbridge Stewart mused to himself as he read the final portions of the report.

_Estimated area of coverage for modified transmat is roughly a 100 cm square, coordinates will have to be locked prior to transmat._

_Containment vessel (Harry has indicated the vessel known as Shadow Blaze will be used, (Note modifications to power systems will be required, modifications will also be necessary to enable vessel to hold transmat chamber). Vessel Shadow Blaze will need to maintain distance of 5km or less of the target._

_A vessel with transmat ability will also be required in a low orbit to complete the process as described by Harry and in memo._

A trap in the sense that they were going to need to lure Voldemort into it, considering they couldn't re-position these things, which much of the plan hinged on.

Lethbridge Stewart placed the report / memo on a separate pile on his desk, that he'd reserved for documents pertaining to 'Harry's Plan' as he'd begun to think of it as, but it was slowly building up to a complicated plan, one that might just work.

--//

"So…for this…well my plan Brigadier…I'm going to need somewhere that I can lure Voldemort into…"

"Somewhere that can have fixed coordinates so that he can be transmatted into the cage, attached to the _Shadow Blaze_." The Brigadier mentioned.

"Professor Vleugal…she was quick." Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, All the finer points need to be worked out Harry _before _I go to Geneva." The Brig said to Harry.

"Why?" He asked curiously.

"Because while I agree…" Lethbridge Stewart trailed off. "While I agree that your plan has merit, and is just the right sort of…"

"Crazy?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Ingenuity to work, we are still talking about blowing up a star, I need to convince Geneva that this will work, and that we're not just going to go around blowing up stars until we hit the right one in the right circumstances."

Harry nodded thoughtfully for a moment.

"Birmingham mentioned something a while back about UNIT training grounds…" Harry started, Lethbridge Stewart nodded and reached over the papers littering his desk and tapped a coded search into his computer, behind him a printer started printing out a few pages he grabbed them handing it to Harry.

"That's a list of all the training areas which you could use to lure Voldemort…places he'd be familiar with."

"Such as?"

"Forests, moors, quarries, wastelands…that sort of thing, you should be able to find all that in the library…" He gave Harry a look, Harry smiled.

"Ok so I've been having a look around Brigadier…I might not be Hermione, but it's still interesting reading about…I dunno…Robot Yetis in the Underground, Cyber…robot things in the sewers…time machines…under London…you know you must have got really sick of aliens hanging out under London…"

"I got by Harry, with the support of my teams…"

Harry nodded seemingly thinking about something.

"But of course now we've got more space to play around with, and the aliens aren't just down here…"

"They're up there…sort of puts this whole Voldemort me-with-the-prophecy-guy into perspective when I think about it sometimes…" Harry mused staring off into the middle distance for a moment.

"Yes, however he is still quite a problem…I just need to balance how much he is a problem…down here, with convincing Geneva that we can get rid of him…up there…so to speak."

"I'll get right on it Brigadier…" Harry said and thanked him for the notes and quietly left the Brigadier's office.

Birmingham knocked and stepped in a few minutes later.

"I saw Harry a moment ago, he seems determined."

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, Birmingham placed another pile of documents down on Lethbridge Stewart's desk.

"What's this?"

"My report."

"Highlights please Birmingham, you're my second in command for a reason."

"So I can get shot before you?" He chuckled.

"Yes and so I can hand you over when the aliens want a hostage." Lethbridge Stewart murmured causing Birmingham to chuckle.

"I've been with having some conversations with our stellar experts, general space theory boffins and other people…about the _genuine _realities of Harry's plan."

"Well?"

"It's workable, the star is in its main sequence, and removing some of its mass will cause it to destabilise and explode out…we're not talking super-nova standards…we'd need to remove _a lot _of its mass, but enough will sill cause a lot of damage…there are a few problems."

"Just a few?"

"We can…supposedly construct through a liberal use of materials and sorcery a missile that will be able to travel further enough into the sun…"

"A sense a but coming Birmingham…" Lethbridge Stewart reached for his tea mug and scowled at it for being empty.

"But we're going to need an element inside the missile to act as the portkey, a strong one."

"How strong?"

"Dwarf Star Alloy." Birmingham said simply.

Lethbridge Stewart shook his head and grabbed at a pile of post it notes and scribbled a note, sticking it to a page that was covered with them beside his desk.

Birmingham raised an eyebrow.

"For my meeting in Geneva." Lethbridge Stewart said as an explanation.

"Which will be?"

"When Harry decided where he wants to set his trap for Voldemort."

Birmingham nodded slowly before leaving the Brigadier to his paperwork.

Lethbridge Stewart stared at the last post it note he'd stuck down, Dwarf Star Alloy, that was, amongst everything else going to be a hard sell.

Dwarf Star Allow was, from their many sources called that because it was dwarf star was compacted under unbelievable force, so much so it would take a 'dwarf star' to do so.

It was incredibly rare, they only found very small bits around some occasional alien sites, but it did have interesting properties; it was pretty much indestructible it wasn't effected by heat at all as far as they could tell, however even the small piece they had was incredibly heavy, it was postulated that a piece 20 cm piece would be beyond a person to carry. It also, and this was going to possibly dissuade Geneva from allowing him to use it; it could also have a nullifying effect on temporally biological organisms…in theory in any case, this was according to a scientific advisor of UNIT's during the late 1980s, someone who _wasn't _the Doctor, but the woman obviously knew him.

Lethbridge Stewart shook his head and rose determined to deal with one problem at a time, first he'd get himself another mug of tea, then he'd work out how to explain he wanted to let someone under 20 blow up a star.

--//

"Sorry David…" Harry said apologetically smiling to him as he looked around the moor.

"No worries Harry…this is a good reprieve from…you know…" Jones said leaning against the warm bonnet of the Land Rover, this was only the first day, and the Brigadier had given them three to four days to find 'the right place' for a trap.

"I would have offered to mist but…"

"No." Jones waved off the offer. "Makes sense the whole, keeping all magic away from the area, no matter how minor and whatever, can't set a trap if he knows it's a trap."

"Or a trap which he thinks is a trap and I'm just a naïve guy who thinks he's setting a trap but is actually going to be have a trap sprung on him by Voldemort…" Harry paused frowning, Jones raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean David…but this…it's way too open…bit too boggy as well, to many places for Voldemort to apparate or port key into…not that that won't happen where ever I choose…but we're really out in the open here." Harry said digging his hands into his jacket further.

"Well, we'll bed down for the night at the pub and head off to the next lot of sites tomorrow morning."

"Right, once we've got there I need to head back…"

"They worried you're going to disappear for 20 days again?" Jones asked with a smile as they climbed into the Land Rover.

"No." Harry smiled slightly. "The only time I do that is when I get rid of Voldemort. They're just…" Harry waved his hand around trying to think of a word.

"Worried?"

"Yeah."

"It's that sort of atmosphere, your plan might be…"

"Mad?"

"Creative I would have said, but it's the best one that any one has come up with, especially since it's your name on the prophecy." Jones said in jest to Harry.

"Yeah, gotta love that prophecy, I'm going to be happy when it's all over." Harry sighed leaning into the leather of the seat as the land rover rocked around the moor before finding purchase on the solid gravel road.

Jones looked over to the…man, albeit young man who sat beside him, not only had he out done himself in the training he'd done with him a little over a year ago, but he'd come up with an idea that he knew the Brigadier believed in, but it was showing, not as much as he'd seen on the video before Harry'd disappeared.

Harry walked across the dew covered grass to the equally dew covered land rover, today they'd be checking out his last couple of ideas, another woodland site, a quarry and…something else he'd found which hadn't been on the Brigadier's list, but it was in the same section that he'd found the other sites in the library.

Harry gazed in the side mirror as they drove out of the quarry.

"If we don't find anything else it'll be this one most likely." Harry said with a sigh.

"It as open as the moor."

"Yeah, but solid walls, means that they're not likely to apparate in behind me, should be easy enough to set up the coordinates for the transmat…but…"

"But?" Jones asked curiously.

"Don't know, just a feeling, a sense of something being slightly off…you know…"

Jones wasn't sure what to say, he'd had so many occurrences of 'slightly off' feelings, the quarry they'd just been in was…

"It wasn't much of a feeling Harry…it's probably all the alien gear they pulled out of the ground there."

"Oh…that's why no one's using it…"

"Probably. The last time I trained here was with a group training at Night Extraction in hostile territory with and against energy weapons."

Harry's eyebrows went up.

"Sounds exciting, really…Wouldn't mind doing that." He said idly.

"Really?" Jones was slightly amazed, after all…"Would have thought you'd want to put your feet up after all this, hand out in your getaway and escape from all this."

Harry chuckled to himself.

"Perhaps…let's deal with the present before thinking about the future."

"This could work…" Harry said to himself as he walked around the abandoned industrial estate.

Jones let Harry walk around, there wasn't anything dangerous left here, the entire site had been cleaned and cleared out.

The actual site colloquially known as the 'Inferno' has been filled in with as much solid material as the UNIT people could come up with, the complex had been covered in concrete and forgotten about.

UNIT had had the land since the mid 80s after the Ministry of Defence decided they didn't want it or couldn't use it, since then UNIT and Night Wolf had used it as a training ground, though no sorcery weapons had been used at this site, according to the file Harry had procured.

"This really could work…" Harry muttered as he turned back to face David "What do you think David?"

"I've trained here…" He trailed off and then added. "It's a good place for a covert team as well as a head on conflict…"

"Yes…could you hide a team here?" Harry queried vaguely.

"Hide from whom?" Jones asked appraising Harry.

"Friendlies and enemies." He said simply.

"Yes." It would be quite easy with this amount of cover, and would allow for a greater accuracy and hits on targets. "Why?"

"This final confrontation is going to need wand users, not just myself, others…" He said vaguely again.

"People from this Order of the Phoenix?" Jones asked cautiously,

"I think, they're just calling it _The Order_ now." Harry admitted.

"But you're going to have other wand users." Jones stated, clarifying. "Other than Voldemort, and his followers?" He asked.

"It is our fight…" Harry said with a shrug. "But I would like some others around…just in case…"

"Backup." Jones surmised.

"If everything goes pear shaped." Harry said lightly with a slight smile.

"Well hopefully you and your friends are going to have plenty of spaces to use to avoid it going pear, or any other sort of fruit shaped." Jones said with a smile. "There's old gas and piping works, pallets, a lot of sheds and several other areas you, us or they could plan to lead some of Voldemort's forces into or through, and plenty of space to plan an assault." Jones gestured around as they walked slowly around the site.

Jones looked at Harry as they walked, he knew he didn't have to sell the site, Harry had decided on this one.

"And we're a good distance from any population?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Yes. This was M.O.D land with an exclusion zone surrounding it, UNIT got it because no one was sure what to do with it, since even though everything got covered over it's still classified under the Official…"

"Secrets Act…Too bad you can't say it as an acronym OSA, sounds a bit like a fish." He said randomly. "What about explosion, safe to plant some C4 or claymores?"

Jones raised an eyebrow but nodded.

"Also this site has no magical exposure unlike some of the other sites." Jones added.

"Yes…that is useful." Harry admitted. "Very useful. Definitely need to make sure that's maintained until and probably after one of Voldemort's minions."

"Minions?"

"Well Death Eaters or whatever, according to the Order they've been popping up at various locations with other people who don't specifically meet the Death Eater mould, the ideas that have been chucked around is that these…'Minions' are there to bolster the ranks, cause he's lost a lot in whatever recent battles…that I missed out on during my journey across the stars."

Jones filed that away for report or conversation soon.

"Don't worry Harry' you have your own battles to fight."

"And a war to win…I guess we should get back to Night Wolf and give the Brig the good news."

--//

Lethbridge Stewart looked over Harry's proposal for the use of the site for his battle.

It wasn't one of the sites that he'd come up with, but one that Harry had obviously found on his own, which suited what he had in mind.

The 'Inferno' site…

Lethbridge Stewart thought back to those days, with the Doctor and Elizabeth Shaw…and the man Stahlman, not as mad, in the beginning that is as some of the other megalomaniacs he and UNIT went up against, but a driven and quite probably driven mad through work before the ooze from drilling took hold of his sanity.

While the Doctor's initial explanation of his foreknowledge of the events was an 'alternate universe' had been quite unbelievable, subsequent studies both into the ooze and into various others elements did convince the Government that a project like the 'Inferno' should never be attempted again.

The site had been sealed tighter than a critical nuclear reactor, with more sealants, concretes and various concoctions covering the drill head and control room so it would probably take more than a few atomic bombs to get through.

"When do you see this plan happening Harry? The problems are slowly being ironed out however…and how are you going to get Voldemort to Inferno?" Lethbridge Stewart said looking up at Harry he watched as Harry considered the question, which was good, while Harry had some many good ideas, the details he'd been rather vague on, despite all the major points he'd addressed.

"It will be some time…not only because or various things happening in the wizarding world. I want to wait until everything has passed to do with Dumbledore…" Harry paused as he paced the Brigadier's office. "That will catalyse everything, it should also up the ante with Voldemort who will probably increase his attacks." Harry laid out slowly.

"How can waiting be a good thing?" The Brigadier prompted making Harry explain what was going on in his head.

"The Order is in the process of setting up…" Harry trailed off searching for the right word "Neighbourhood watch, small organised groups in towns that can fight off resistance, according to what Remus said the last time I saw him both sides have much smaller numbers ever since…"

"The business with the vampires." Lethbridge Stewart offered as that was the last major battle Harry had been involved in before he'd disappeared.

"Yes…" Harry more or less nodded.

"And getting Voldemort there?" Lethbridge Stewart asked again, Voldemort was after all…Voldemort.

"That…is something I'm going to have to think about." Harry said as though he had an idea already formed.

"You have an idea though?" Lethbridge Stewart pressed Harry Potter.

"Oh yes…I'm going to ask him." Harry admitted calmly.

"You're going to ask him?" Lethbridge Stewart asked slowly and calmly studying Harry, he nodded and began to explain.

"With Dumbledore out of the picture he would see me as the next threat, or maybe the constant threat, if I send him a letter…you know something, something, Dumbledore's gone, something, something, power, power…let's meet…just an idea." Harry said waving his hand around as he said 'something.

"It will look like a trap."

"Yes…but hopefully the right sort of trap." Harry said casually.

"Well now with your site we have the beginnings of the plan, you're goingt o be needed on site for a lot longer though Harry, we need you to get more of your plan, extra training…"

"'How to deal with a madman who you need to kill because of a prophecy'?" Harry asked.

"Exactly." Lethbridge Stewart said to Harry's sarcasm. "Then at some point I should have enough to convince Geneva."

"Sorry Brig…I forgot about Geneva…"

"That is my problem Harry, but you still have your own share of problems, this is _your _plan after all." The Brigadier said with a chuckle.

"Yeah…and I'm determined it's going to work." Harry said with firm determination.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded and eyed the documentation he had been preparing for Harry to allow him to join UNIT and Night Wolf…

_--//_

_A bit of an exposition chapter, but necessary all the same._

_This tracks action from chapters 44 – 46 of Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space (if you're trying to place the action)._

_Thanks for reading._


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 33**

Lethbridge Stewart stood in front of the large screen in the meeting room staring at the data on the screen.

Much of it had to do with Harry's plan.

A lot of it was just logistics.

_ETA in system 5 days, estimated return 11 days._

That was the data on the indicator for the RSCS Firefox which was speeding towards the system to confirm the information and then would return.

It would be too late for his report to Geneva, which he intended to put forward in the coming days.

While Lethbridge Stewart trusted Harry implicitly, and in theory his craft had been constructed by Night Wolf personnel (though some might argue it had been, at least partially grown) there was something about checking your facts before you blew up a star.

RSCS Victory was on route from Research Outpost 3 where they had been assisting in scouting the system for hostiles. The Outpost had been attacked from orbit recently by an unknown assailant.

The major problem, Lethbridge Stewart admitted to himself was communications, currently they had no way of boosting a signal from such a distance.

According to the scientists within his own command and at Gibson and North Highlands the Q40 element would assist in that problem, it was one more reason why blowing up the star was…a better idea.

"Alistair are you hiding in here?" Birmingham chuckled as he walked in.

Lethbridge Stewart turned and scowled, he wasn't hiding, just mearly considering everything.

"It's not often that I need to defer to Geneva." He admitted. Geneva, in particular conducted various assessments and research into subjects which required academics and records held in UNIT central command in Geneva, while smaller research projects were conducted around the world in various UNIT bases or of shoots of UNIT the larger pieces of research were conducted there.

Lethbridge Stewart had been given full and free reign when it came to Night Wolf, he was in theory in charge of all their space based operations and everything concerning research, development in implementation on Earth.

But even Alistair knew he should probably discuss his (Harry's) plan with them, currently though he was avoiding putting together the final pieces of his presentation and report before heading out to a private airfield.

"And I'm not hiding Birmingham, just considering the logistics of this operation." He pointed to the screen.

"You signed off on Harry's application to UNIT and Night Wolf I noticed."

"Yes, now that Harry officially exists…"

"Though, we haven't actually offered him to join Night Wolf or UNIT…"

"If he doesn't Birmingham, I'll just tear it up…" Lethbridge Stewart said simply.

"Do you think he'll say no?" Birmingham asked.

"No…but every soldier needs a break after a battle, as will Harry…but he'll…"

"Want something else to do…he isn't the type to sit around and…"

"Sit in the garden watching the plants grow…" Lethbridge Stewart chuckled, that was where he had been…for a little while.

Birmingham chuckled.

"Yes…what about his friend?"

"Miss Granger?"

"Yes."

"I'll leave that in your hands for now Birmingham, standard research, family, friends, the usual, get MI5 to lay a hand. If she's nothing of a risk note it down for 'after the plan'."

Birmingham nodded to himself as he regarded the monitors as Lethbridge Stewart left the room.

--//

General Lethbridge Stewart walked through the United Nations Building in Geneva, deep into it and through a not unrecognisable door, but not a memorable door either which led into the buildings of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, Geneva HQ.

After having his ID scanned once more he was allowed through another set of doors and down a nondescript hall way, which on any of the fire plans for the building was a simple walk way between a storeroom and a supply cupboard.

The door Lethbridge Stewart walked calmly through was a door unmarked door.

He walked for around 10 meters of bland hallway which had nothing in it except another door and a ID reader at the end. As he walked various scanning devices scanned his body and his case he was carrying. Scanning his body heat, his heart beat (paying close attention for a singular heart beat), scanning the case for anything unrecognisable, or anything recognisable which hadn't been cleared in its security before hand, and double checking that everything lined up to the person walking down the corridor.

If it didn't the corridor would be locked off, UNIT personnel would storm and force would be used to subdue the subject within the corridor.

Thus far nothing had happened, but it didn't stop Night Wolf scientists coming up with grander and more detailed scanning equipment and defence equipment to keep those who shouldn't be in, out of their building.

The room was dark enough whilst still letting in a degree of natural light, a large screen occupied all of one wall, currently only the UNIT logo occupied the display.

"So Lethbridge Stewart, what's this grand plan that you've felt needed our attention?" Professor Jules Winter said smiling across from where Lethbridge Stewart stood at the foot of the table, a pile of folders next to him with the standard 'Top Secret' warning covering it.

"If you'll bare with me sirs, madam, Professor, Doctor…" Lethbridge Stewart looked around the room, at the people he'd requested, everyone had the highest clearance and he had thought it would be best coming from him personally.

"That's everyone General, now cut the cloak and dagger, been hanging out with MI5 too much?"' General McGeoch chuckled, he like the Lethbridge Stewart had had some time away from UNIT, him following the incident at Night Wolf command, but had returned when Voldemort had 'resumed hostilities'.

Lethbridge Stewart just chuckled.

"I believe it would…be best for me to…present my case before you read the finer print as it were."

For the next 15 minutes the collected scientists, Doctors, professors, and who ever else stared at the screen, and at General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart and considered whether he had just had one of the biggest cases of thinking outside the box, or whether they had another cracked solider on their hands.

Lethbridge Stewart passed around the folders containing the information and waited for the questions.

"Are you quite sane General?" McGeoch asked, he hadn't opened the folder but instead was staring at Lethbridge Stewart, studying his face, his body language and listening intently for Lethbridge Stewart's response, the inflection in his voice.

"No General…though the man who suggested this course of action did think he was going to be questioned on his state of mind." He admitted.

General McGeoch nodded and opened the folder.

Lethbridge Stewart fielded several questions through, none thoroughly in depth or about the scientific parts, more about his intentions behind his course of action, the science of what they were doing was…while not simple it was scientifically sound, relatively.

He had been asked to return in 36 hours for their answer.

Which Lethbridge Stewart thought to himself was a good thing, he hadn't been asked immediately to leave or had been escorted to the door and they hadn't said the plan was unsound scientifically.

Though that and pretty much everything else he had to thank all his people at Night Wolf Command, as well as the help his command had received from the Northern Highlands Facility and the Gibson Desert Research Facility.

Lethbridge Stewart paused as he made his way out of the building and considered looking in on the division dedicated to tracking, following and plotting the Doctor's movements, it wasn't just the Doctor they also focused on 'UNIT Standing Order, Priority A1' an order which had been in effect since his days and was still valid, despite them having caught the Master at least one and worked with him at least twice.

Alistair liked the Doctor as a friend, in many of his incarnations that he had known him...and as an ally he was priceless…

However there was also the other side to him…especially where Night Wolf was concerned, the Doctor…had a tendency to see things in terms of what the human race was 'ready for', and the analysts both psychological and military had determined that should the Doctor discover their 'off planet' excursions he might look favourably on them.

The amount of alien technology which the Doctor had destroyed because it was 'to early for you to discover'…whatever piece of technology, he'd either destroyed or stolen from UNIT storage.

The Doctor; Lethbridge Stewart thought, as did many was a blessing and a curse. Trouble followed him, sometimes he attracted and sometimes he dealt with it…and if he came after Night Wolf Lethbridge Stewart would defend it with all he had in him, even against his friend.

--//

At the scheduled time, late the day after Lethbridge Stewart re-entered the building and made his way to the same meeting room he'd been in a little under 40 hours ago.

The room was a degree less populated, with only Professor Julian Winter, Professor Glenda Moore and General Brendan McGeoch in attendance.

"Sirs, Madam."

"Have a seat General." Julian Winter gestured to a seat at the table, at all of the placements at the table were folders, a jug of water occupied the centre of the table.

Lethbridge Stewart sat down and looked around the table.

"You've presented us with…something General." Winter said with a smile.

"That was one of my thoughts sir when presented with it myself."

"This is a large project General, is he worth it?" Glenda Moore asked.

"You've read my command's reports…"

"I have…"

"Yes it is worth it. The budget from our past assaults and battles against Voldemort's forces, not just UNIT's but the British Armed Forces and that of the various emergency services around Inner and Greater London have been stretched." Lethbridge Stewart paused, knowing that he was making his case with what he said here and now. "My command has needed to redirect vast amounts of time and resources towards combating Voldemort's troops both directly and in directly assisting the emergency services…not to mention the loss of life in so far."

"And how many lives will be lost in this endeavour General?" General McGeoch asked regarding Lethbridge Stewart as he spoke.

"The man who plotted this plan has a team of people ready to face Voldemort, Night Wolf will only be acting as distance back up, and the support of equipment and delivery of the final stages of the plan. I would like to say no casualties will occur in this plan, but this conflict has been going on for long enough for me not to make such assertions like that."

General McGeoch nodded, it was the correct answer…though perhaps not the _right _ answer, not that there was a right answer in these situations.

"Your people are right about one thing General." Julian Winter said leaning back into his chair.

"Sir?"

"Voldemort will continue to be a…shall we say destructive element?"

"The effects of the fires in London, the attacks on Dover and the various attacks around the United Kingdom have greatly destabilised the world market, in Europe there have been effects of Voldemort moving his troops through towns, the effects will only increase…it's making everyone very nervous, even the _Americans._" Moore added following Winter's statement, the Americans and in particular their reaction to problems was something of a concern within UNIT. But UNIT held only a small post within America, the Americans preferring to handle it 'their way' without 'outside interference'.

"We're approving of your plan General. You have Geneva's support and approval to go ahead with your man's plan to destroy a star, on the condition that your ship…the Royal Space Core Ship _Firefox_'s data is sent to us for final approval." General McGeoch stated with a small smile.

"Just to make sure that you're not existence of any developed life form." Winter added.

"Sirs…madam…thank you…" General Lethbridge Stewart stood taking the folder and placing it within his case.

--//

Birmingham leaned back in the Brigadier's chair, staring at the paper work, a lot of it regarding the training and preparation for 'The Plan'.

"It really needs a name." He said to himself and then scolded himself, he was determined not to talk out loud to himself, that was why his office door in the Sorcery division was always open…unless he closed it.

Hitting a couple of buttons he located Harry, he wasn't with Colonel Jones or one of the others preparing, and he wasn't in the room he'd been given to plan and plot out the finer details of his plan, when he'd been given the room he'd appeared in it with large reams of paper, large sketches and star maps of various areas of space, he'd just mumbled 'had them around at home'.

He was sitting in the mess alone reading something which wasn't related to his plan, from the feed it appeared to be a UNIT branded folder, something obviously top secret, there wasn't much that UNIT got involved in that wasn't.

Birmingham pushed himself off the chair and made his way for the mess.

"Harry." Birmingham said as greeting as he sat himself down opposite Harry Potter.

"Birmingham." He said briefly looking up from the folder. "How goes…everything?" He asked after pausing for a moment searching for a word.

"As good as can be expected." Birmingham smiled briefly. "How come you're here?"

Harry shrugged closing the folder, Birmingham glanced over at it, it stated it was the follow up report to the WOTAN incident in 1966.

"I've been going over the plan…training…that sort of stuff…" Harry said vaguely.

Birmingham nodded, he was silent for a moment considering how introduce the concept of joiing UNIT to Harry appropriately.

"So Harry what do you think you want to do?" Birmingham asked after a short silence.

"What?" Harry looked up slightly startled from the folder he'd reopened during the few moments of silence.

"It's your last year of _Hogwarts_ coming up. It's when most 'witches and wizards' think about what they want to do career wise." Birmingham said. "Do you want to be a world star Quidditch player shocking the masses going faster than the speed of sound and astounding your team mates?" Birmingham said making Harry chuckle.

"No…I'm sure that's what a friend of mine would like." He said with a slight smile.

"Are you going to head off to the ministry, you did say once that you were going to change it…" Birmingham offered remembering in one of their first conversations Harry had made suggestions that he would enter the world of wizarding politics and 'give it a good shake up'.

"That's happening on its own; Rufus Scrimgeour replaced Fudge after he was executed by the American ministry." Harry paused as he thought to himself. He's more level headed than Fudge ever was…I don't want to be an auror, goddess, I'd become some pinup boy for them…" Harry sighed shaking his head slightly.

"So is this what you'd like to do?" Birmingham tapped the UNIT folder.

Harry looked up from the paragraph he was reading and nodded slowly.

Birmingham smiled.

"With the amount of time you've spent here you're practically an honorary member, The Brig asked me to ask you if you wanted to make it official."

Harry sat up a bit straighter and stared at Birmingham.

"Wouldn't I have to join the army?" He asked slightly worried.

"Why?"

"To join UNIT, Jones and the others came from…"

"You can train, with him even, and gain a military rank." Birmingham explained. "But you can enter UNIT with a rank of Sorcerer, it's recognised throughout UNIT…throughout the higher classified areas in any case." He added. "The Brig can fill you in about the specifics of the military details. Now let me test you…I assume you've read the training manuals."

"Some of them…this isn't…." He asked nervously.

"Just a bit of fun Harry, see what you know. Ok…now if I can remember my own test…" Birmingham took a bite of an apple he'd brought with him and chewed thoughtfully.

"Birmingham…what about someone else joining UNIT?" Harry asked curiously.

"Someone else? You think one of your friends at Hogwarts?"

"I told you about Hermione Granger?" Birmingham nodded, he'd finished her and her parents check through UNIT and MI5 were compiling a list of any associates that could be a problem, if there were no problems it would be simple enough to create high school qualifications for Miss Granger, and then the UN could assist her in gaining university qualifications, if that was what she wanted to do, according to what Harry had said in the past she'd probably want to devour their library at Night Wolf.

"She's probably the smartest person in my year at Hogwarts…" Harry smiled and trailed off. "But she doesn't know what to do, when she finishes Hogwarts I mean. She said basically there's no options other than the Ministry, or a publisher that she was going to go to a regular university and build from there…I sort of said…"

"Without saying anything of…" Birmingham regarded Harry seriously, it was after all a serious breach of security if Harry spoke to someone about what they did here, without them having perused the Amended Articles and Official Secrets Act.

"Of course." Harry said immediately a little off put at the suggestion. "Just that I'd get back to her."

"The Brig will give you the final yes or no on Miss Granger."

"I was sort of sticking away from his office, it seemed my plan has caused him…" Harry said a little ashamed.

"A bit of paper work? Blowing up a sun isn't something you casually mention and expect everyone just to give it a tick of approval, it's a good thing that you've got some time in between telling us and doing it." Birmingham said good naturedly. Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"But he should be back from Geneva later tomorrow, I'll have you put in his appointment book." Birmingham rubbed his hands together. "Now your quiz…the first incident recorded of Dalek intervention on Earth?"

Harry thought hard, there were lots, and not just a few there were lots everywhere.

"What do you mean recorded, I mean recent discoveries and everything…"

"Alright first military encounter in England?"

Harry knew it right away. "The Shoreditch Incident." Birmingham Harry had obviously been reading up on events prior to UNIT's formation.

"Correct. If you're fighting a Cyberman what can you use to fight it?"

"Gold, or gold bullets, although conventional firearms can be used to some effectiveness, high impact explosives are also successful." Harry said an almost direct quote from a training manual from the late 1980s.

"What is UNIT standing order, priority A1?" He asked with a smile, Harry thought for a few minutes.

"It was initiated in the Brig's time…" Harry paused as he thought about it. "It had to do with their scientific advisor at the time, a friend of his or something… Birmingham smiled to himself, something indeed. "It's to be on the look out for an 'international terrorist' was the official line…" Harry said making air quotes as he answered.

"Good…that was the line that UNIT put out to the other international agencies, American and what not. "You have to dig a little deeper for the truth…but very good Harry, I think the Brigadier will be impressed." Birmingham said truthfully.

"Thanks Birmingham…I think I'll get this back to the library and go out for a fly…maybe head home, I'll come back tomorrow to see the Brig…"

"Probably after lunch Harry." Birmingham said as Harry rose to leave.

"Right…and thanks Birmingham."

Birmingham watched Harry leave, he was definitely a little more chipper and confidant as he walked out of the room.

_--//_


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 34**

Birmingham met the Brigadier as he walked into Night Wolf.

"Well?"

"Well?" Lethbridge Stewart asked looking at Birmingham, who sighed, seemingly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"I looked into Miss Granger's family, no danger there, her immediate family both parents are dentists in outer London. Five have sent through the detailed mark up on their background, no real problems, the full report is on your desk." Birmingham paused.

"And Harry?"

"I spoke with him. He's…" Birmingham paused searching for the right word. Lethbridge Stewart slowed in his stride. "Enthusiastic, I think would be the best word for it Brigadier."

"Good…"

"Seemed to take a load off you know…blowing up a star…how did it go with Geneva?"

"Very gentle Birmingham." Lethbridge Stewart mumbled as they made their way through the hallways of Night Wolf command.

"Well I need to know whether or not I have to start finding some people to charm the dwarf star alloy who are ready and willing to jump on a ship for over a month. Or whether I should start preparing bunkers and bases in case you tell Harry his plan doesn't work and it ends up being a free for all battle some where in the West Midlands." Birmingham said, almost seriously.

"They agreed to the plan Birmingham, you can drop the hysterics." He said pushing open his office door, despite his couple of days spent in Geneva, and despite the fact Birmingham was supposed to hold down the fort whilst he was away, he still had the same amount of paper work.

"I kept it at bay, there wouldn't have been _ a lot _more had I not done _some _of it." Birmingham held his hands up at the silent look from the Brigadier.

"Very well…since now that you don't have to plan an apocalypse…get Professor Preston for me…" Lethbridge Stewart said as he put his things on his desk before walking back over to the door.

"From the Gibson Research Facility…why?" Birmingham asked.

"I have an idea for Mr Potter…line up a comm. talk some time this afternoon…you can update me on everything over lunch." Lethbridge Stewart walked out of his office, deeply regretting the food he'd eaten on the UN flight from Geneva.

The following day Lethbridge Stewart was working through…more paper work, relating directly and indirectly and in many cases not at all related to Harry's plan.

He looked up as someone knocked on his door before walking in, it was the man in question.

"Ah Harry, come in Birmingham said that you were coming; I just returned from Geneva."

"What did head office have to say?" Harry said slumping into his usual chair that he sat in, or more recently slumped in when he visited him.

"They've given their approval for your plan." Lethbridge Stewart stated calmly, the reaction was immediate, Harry sat up in his chair, staring slightly amazed.

"Really?"

"Considering the amount of civil unrest Voldemort and his followers caused during this and the last conflict. Together with the element which will be uncovered and the relative isolation of the star system, plus your own scans of the system. They have approved your plan and have authorised the use of a rare element, known as 'dwarf star alloy', for use as the portkey inside the sun."

Harry started nodded and then shook his head with a puzzled expression showing he wasn't quite sure what dwarf star alloy actually was.

"It's an mineral as far as we've been able to ascertain, it's extremely heavy and indestructible, according to some sources it's used by certain travellers whose ships jump the lines that divide space."

"That's a little vague."

"Some of our contacts are." Lethbridge Stewart said equally as vaguely.

"So this stuff we're going to build a missile out of it?"

"No, it will be the portkey and it will be encased in a missile which will be fired into the sun, according to those that are working on it, even if the outer elements are stripped away the forward inertia and gravity will carry it on into the sun. When we've got everything worked out you'll be briefed."

Harry nodded and was silent for a moment. Lethbridge Stewart broke the silence after half a minute.

"So you want to join UNIT Harry?"

Harry nodded again without saying anything.

"All the paper work is ready, in fact getting your passports and citizenship aided it, until then you technically didn't exist."

"Really?"

"Plays havoc whenever a wand user turns up on CCTV during a crime."

"So what…" Harry started questioningly.

"You read and sign this" Lethbrudge Stewart handed Harry a folder of documents. "…and then fill in this" He handed over the desk a second folder of documents which included stardard things such as the UNIT health and death plans, standard information. "Colonel Jones plus other members of the Sorcery department will take you through some other particulars, then you will carry a UNIT Night Wolf rank of Sorcerer."

Harry appeared slightly swamped by the information and seemed to ask the least puzzling question on his mind.

"Colonel Jones?"

"David Jones, he was promoted following…" Lethbridge Stewart trailed off. "All information in time Harry…he's been doing some excellent work out there don't you think?"

Harry just nodded again.

Over the next day or so Harry spent his time reading up on _exactly _what the forms meant when the said…for instance 'alien possession' and asking the Brigadier various questions.

Over that time the Brigadier watched Harry go through a series of difference emotions ranging from wonder, to worry through to anticipation.

Following that Harry was asked to complete a set of tests, questions and challenges, ranging from the psychological through to the practical. At the end of it he sat before Lethbridge Stewart.

"Harry Potter, you have joined UNIT and been awarded the rank of Sorcerer first class." Lethbridge Stewart said with a smile.

"Thanks…umm General…" Harry said, nervously.

"Harry sit ask your question." The Brigadier said trying to rid Harry of his new found nervousness.

"Right, I've got a friend."

"Hermione Granger." Lethbridge Stewart said immediately, Harry obviously felt his friend would…enjoy working withih UNIT.

"Birmingham told you?" He asked surprised.

"Yes. You think she'd like to work with us?" Lethbridge Stewart asked curious to hear Harry's thinking behind his push for Hermione Granger to joining Night Wolf.

"Yes…but would she have to go through all…" Harry trailed off gesturing the slightly scruffy BDUs he was wearing following one of the final 'run arounds' he'd done earlier in the day.

"That? No…That was my suggestion…" He chuckled, Harry stared hard, yet curiously at him. "We put you through that to help you… You now have the provisional rank of Pilot Officer…"

"Pilot Officer?" Harry said a little disbelievingly.

"You've still got a while until you return to Hogwarts or until Dumbledore's trial concludes, correct?" Lethbridge Stewart asked with a smile, Harry just nodded gently as though he couldn't handle any further surprises.

"Well there's something you might be interested in…" Lethbridge Stewart smiled to Harry's slightly worried expression.

_**Late the previous day…**_

"Fiona…"

"Alistair, a call by appointment…" She smiled into the screen staring at him for a moment. "What do you want?" She asked with a smile as she leaned back sipping a mug of something hot.

Lethbridge Stewart smiled.

"Why would I want anything Professor Fiona Preston?"

"Because you asked Birmingham to make an appointment…you look like shit by the way."

"Thank a UN airline meal…" He muttered.

"Try to avoid planes…but you've got all our ships tied up…" She said looking at him through the camera from her own office in Australia.

"Yes…well I noticed that the ASCS Hattah was coming back in for a…"

"She's going for a trial run with the new squad of Thylacines _Brigadier _as well you know…"

"Let me try a different tact then…"

"Yes…" She stared at him, some how…

"You remember your talk with me about pilots…"

"How we have to re-educate them on the orientation of space based combat and piloting…I remember Brigadier…"

"Well I have a favour to ask."

"A favour Brigadier…" She said amused.

"I have a man, a Pilot Officer…" Lethbridge Stewart went on to request that this Pilot Officer be trained, whilst the Hattah was down unloading supplies and being resupplied with Thylacines.

"And the name of this pilot officer?"

"Harry Potter." He said simply, Professor Preston nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of whatever she was drinking.

"Would this be the same Harry Potter who has plans to destroy a star?"

"He might."

"Ah….is he an Australian?" She asked curiously, not that it really mattered, but if it didn't why didn't Lethbridge Stewart send him to the Northern Highlands Facility, which also had some Thylacines…they weren't constructed there, but they still had all the relevant training materials.

Lethbridge Stewart smiled, Fiona raised an eyebrow.

"He has dual citizenship, lives, when he's not finishing school in Victoria."

"I'll give him a go Lethbridge Stewart, as a favour…"

"Thank you Professor."

"No worries, _General_."

**--//**

Harry Potter, Sorcerer Pilot Officer, Harry Potter walked through the corridors of the Gibson Desert Research Facility…he wasn't being led, he had been given instructions on how to get to his destination.

He was however being monitored by the facility's security cameras…just in case.

He knocked on a more or less plain door which stated '**Professor Fiona Preston – Facility Commander'.**

Fiona Preston looked up as Sorcerer Pilot Officer; Harry Potter walked in.

He was wearing a standard set of Night Wolf BDUs with some sort of jacket over the top which definitely wasn't normal cow leather…nor was it anything that could be described as regular leather.

"Mr Potter." She stood and offered her hand, Potter took it, his handshake was firm, but not tight.

"Professor Preston…thank you for…" He paused as he let go of her hand. "For…allowing me to come…"

"Alistair just explained to you didn't he?"

"Yes…_Professor_." Fiona looked at Potter…Potter's file noted that he attended Hogwarts which would explain his…odd inflection when addressing a person in command with the prefix of professor.

"Well let me explain in detail…"

--//

Fiona led Mr Potter to the training room, this was as much an experiment as it was a test, she'd made _Harry _aware of this before they even started, but she also mentioned that he was allowed to have fun with it.

Harry Potter would be put through a compressed training and education regime on how to fly and operate within zero gravity using the Thylacine fighter craft built within her facility.

There had been many problems with the Thylacine project thus far; while the Sorcerers and engineers had worked tirelessly on the systems within the Thylacine the engine systems were too small and the power systems needed for weapons as well as manoeuvrability meant that they could not generate a gravity field, they did however have as many systems to counteract inertia within the craft.

But it didn't eliminate it.

Secondly operating and flying the Thylacine was not…not like flying a plane, given how the Thylacines were constructed, using various pieces of reverse engineered technology, as well as properly treated and inserted pieces of magical wood, plus the unique nature of the engine systems they couldn't be flown like a plane…

That said in some cases they could, but they could do far more.

Then there was the simple previous experience, everyone thus far had piloting experience…that wasn't always a good thing.

Combine all that with the unfamiliarity of zero-gravity and finding a pilot capable of flying the X shaped craft became slightly more difficult…

They had enough pilots for the time being…and some in training…however the acclimatising process and re-education from what they initially believe was...a lengthy process.

If they had to, if the situation arose and UNIT needed to take an extended amount of Thylacines out into space…the Gibson Desert Construction and Research Facility could construct the Thylacines for such endeavour, but providing the pilots, even with smallest amount of training would still take…a while.

The program Harry Potter was in was to discover whether a younger person with little _normal _flight experience could pilot a Thylacine within a compressed training regime.

The file Lethbridge Stewart had sent indicated that Harry Potter had flow: a broom, a hippogriff and a Thestral.

Only the broom was directly related and might affect the outcome, but it was worth it considering Harry Potter's age and inexperience with the Thylacines.

--//

"So Lt is he ready?" Fiona was walking around outside on the actual ground above her base with Lieutenant Stewart Seager, the man who had been doing the majority of Harry Potter's training over the past two weeks, when she'd seen them they seemed to have a good rapport.

"Honestly…we probably could've put him in one within the first couple of weeks…"

She looked at him.

"While making sure he didn't squeeze the weapons triggers." He added with a smile as he enjoyed the sun and the air.

Working in an underground secret base was good for security, but every so often you had to get out of it and take a breath outside.

Everyone at the facility was cleared to do so…the site was officially a 'secure' meteorology facility, should someone wander close and see people wandering around…that was their cover.

"You're that sure of his abilities?"

"Yes…" He trailed off.

"But, Lt Seager? Speak freely."

"He's thrown himself into it…too hard…"

"He does have a lot on his mind." She said offhandedly.

The Lt nodded beside her.

"You think it's something more?"

"I won't know until I see him in the air Professor…"

"But?"

"But…I wouldn't press for him to go onto become a Thylacine pilot. He's having fun…but I'm not sure if this is what he wants to do."

"But you think he wants to do something within Night Wolf?"

"Yes…he certainly wants…I think he needs to be working for something…"

"To be doing something…don't we all Seager."

--//

The Australian Space Core Ship Hattah moved swiftly out of a high orbit above the Earth, travelling a relatively short distance out into the solar system close to in relative terms to Jupiter.

"_Hattah you have control of thylacines 1 and 2."_

"Confirmed Thylacine 1, prepare for launch."

There was a noise of motion as Thylacine 1 and Thylacine 2 were launched out of the forward bay of the ASCS Hattah.

Captain Chris Rogers looked on at the various scanner information as well as a real time visual feed.

"Battle space is up captain." Roberta Williams, the Secondary Systems Coordinator announced.

"Good, bring up the live motion feed on them and get battle analysis on the moves of Thylacine 2 I want a preliminary report on his moves out there."

"Sir."

Outside the ship two X shaped craft sat in space, having successfully exited the ship the pilots of the one person craft sat a short distance away facing each other.

"_You ok Harry?"_

"_Yeah…I'm fine…"_

"_Good, the weapons systems have been disengaged so you don't have to worry about shooting me…" _

Captain Rogers smiled at Seager's comment, when he'd been first learning target practise with the Thylacines there had been a few occasions where the ship had been a victim of friendly fire.

"_We're going to go over everything you've learnt so far, basic movement, getting used to the effects from the movement, zero grav manoeuvring, the works, you ready for it."_

"_I am." _

Those two words from Harry Potter made Captain Rogers wonder if Harry had any doubts about anything, the simple assurance of readiness was delivered in such a hard and determined manner…

Captain Rogers pulled down his own control systems and screen and pulled up Harry Potter's file.

He had had some space flight experience with the _semi-sentient _space and air craft.

It obviously must have had some extreme controls to adjust for what the pilot wanted to do.

It was clear watching Harry Potter attempt to control the Thylacine that he _knew _what he wanted to do, but couldn't do it, the instinct to do and what he could do were two separate things.

However after an hour of flight Harry Potter had shown an extreme improvement, much faster than almost all the new pilots he'd seen in the Thylacines.

"So how is he Lt. Seager?"

"_He's a natural Captain. I said he could stop for a bit or play around with some free time, you're monitoring him?" _Came Lt Seager's voice.

"Of course, He's had no proper training?" Captain Rogers asked, aware that they were on an open channel, and if Mr Potter Potter was listening…

"_No sir, he's a sorcerer."_

"Bring him in Lt. Do you think he's up for a trail run with the training weapons engaged? With the rest of the squad?"

"I'd like to try." Harry Potter's voice came through clear, Captain Rogers smiled to himself.

"Sorcerer Potter." Rogers said simply.

"_Harry, how did you…" _Lt Seager asked curiously.

"_You're the one who told me to maintain radio contact, since you weren't saying anything I scanned through the other channels."_ Harry Potter stated.

Rogers chuckled lightly to himself, this definitely wasn't going to be a person who would freak under…battle conditions, just from that remark he could feel it.

"Come aboard Harry, let's see how you and the Lt. Go against Alpha squad."

Captain Rogers leaned back in his chair in his quarters and flicked through the scanner information collected on Harry Potter and Lt Seager's initial run today.

Lt Seager was flying one of the newly constructed Thylacines, it was exactly the same as the previous Thylacines except the wood which added to the manoeuvrability had been replaced with a wood with far more potential.

The new construction had improved manoeuvrability but not direct power which still came from the omni-directional engines.

The other information related directly to Harry Potter, there was a comparison against his initial moves and reactions against other pilots from their first time in space, now that he could look at a direct comparison the results were…interesting.

Harry Potter was way above most of the pilots they'd had up so far, his adaptation rate was quite high and response time was above what was expected for someone his age…however there was the extra factors, Harry had effectively been fighting for the past few years more so and in a totally different field than that of other pilots they had had in to test plot the thylacines

The following day Captain Rogers was once again in command watching his full squad, plus one manoeuvring with the training weapons active…with them out there with training weapons the ASCS Hattah's weapons were ready, all defensive systems were online and primed and all their scanners were actively scanning the system.

They were also watching the squad and in particular Harry Potter performing a series of manoeuvres…that new pilots generally didn't do.

Harry Potter spun his craft 'up' in a spinning cork screw, Seager watched as the training shots from his squad tore past narrowly missing their target, he quickly spun port and around regaining his aim on Harry's craft.

"He shouldn't have been able to pull that one off…not after a day in flying the Thylacines….should he captain?" Roberta asked as she flicked through the various sets of scanner data at the Captain's request.

"Not unless he's lucky or determined…from what I know of Mr Potter Roberta, probably both."

"So Sorcerer Pilot Officer Potter how was your first training session with Alpha Squad?" Rogers asked glancing out of the small window in the briefing room, it was almost always covered up for structural integrity reasons, but for the Hattah the people in the Gibson Desert had come up with a mix which would hold up against anything…but even so the double blast covers only came off when they weren't flying or in battle…but it was also good that they had a window…just in case they lost all systems…

"It was amazing…hard…made me think on my feet, but I felt totally in control…it was amazing…I said that already didn't I?" Harry said in awe as he walked over to the window, staring out of it for a few moments, staring at the light of Earth.

"Yes…" Rogers chuckled. "Everyone who's been in the Thylacine's has said that some have joked training should start with a piece of paper."

"With what…" Harry started to say.

"Written on it? Forget everything about a plane." Harry nodded thoughtfully and then smiled wistfully.

"The only think I've ridden is a broom…and a hipogryfff…and a thestral…" Harry Potter trailed off as he counted them off.

Rogers nodded.

"And you're _the_ Harry Potter who's come up with this some might say mad plan…" Rogers noted that he did cringe…though more at the _the _than at the 'mad plan' part.

"You haven't heard anything from the Br…General Lethbridge-Stewart?" Potter seemed slightly worried. Rogers shook his head.

"You were pretty good out there Sorcerer. What are your plans…You're starting your last year of school Lt Seager tells me."

Harry nodded.

"One more year at Hogwarts…"

Rogers vaguely remembered the name from a briefing some time ago.

"That's the wand user's school in the UK right?"

"Yeah. Now I just have to bide my time till my insane plan can be finished…" He said with a slight smile.

"What are your plans after that?" Chris Rogers asked him.

"Well I'm already in UNIT…dunno Captain…maybe spend some time with UNIT on the ground or…" He trailed off again.

"Or?" Chris prompted.

"On a ship…" Harry shrugged

"You could be a great thylacine pilot." Chris offered casually.

"Poaching me already?" Harry chuckled. Rogers smiled and rose from his chair and stood with him by the window.

"Nothing of the sort, you just seems a little…restless."

"I just…I dunno. I think when I've finished all that…" Harry gestured at the planet. "I want to try a few things, the flying was great…perhaps I could pursue it…but I don't want it to be the only thing…I want to see a lot more…try things…"

"With an attitude like that…" Rogers trailed off.

"Like that?" Harry asked.

"You're going to have an interesting time of it Sorcerer Potter." 'Not just blowing up a star…' Rogers thought to himself.

"Probably filled with danger, life threatening situations and people out to kill me and long periods of nothing."

"Why?" Rogers asked suddenly…admittedly there were some things out here that were out to kill them…but that wasn't everything.

"That's what my life had been like so far, I doubt it would differ just for a change of location…" Harry muttered.

"Come on let's get you a bunk, I think you'll be up for a bit more training, the General will send word of anyone wanting _else_ to kill you." The captain patted him on the shoulder and led him to the door.

--//

"Will do General Sir you'll have Harry back within the next couple of hours."

"Thank you Captain." The video link broke off.

Rogers was glad that he could actually have a real time conversation with Night Wolf Command whilst in space…although this was the only instance that they could…more or less inside the solar systems and a couple of thousand kilometres outside of it was about the range of their communications.

Any further out and they would need to go to audio, and any distance that required them to engage their hyperspace window generator engines they needed to use a degree of power and it wasn't anything near real time.

Supposedly this was one of the things to be addressed with the Q40 element, communications and guidance beacons allowing for extended bandwidth for communications with Earth.

"So you're leaving us then?" Lt Stewart Seager met Harry on his way to the teleport room, Harry had been with them for the past three weeks training, getting to know the Thylacine systems…everything really.

"Looks like it…seems everything's about to…or is hitting the fan." Harry said hitting the lift button.

"_Entering high Earth orbit_." The captain's voice came through as they walked into the teleport room.

"_Sorcerer Potter, it was interesting having you along._"

"Same here captain, it was…brilliant, amazing…I'm still lost for words…" Harry admitted to the air as he took the teleport rock and walked into the area.

"_Don't get yourself killed._" Rogers said, warning him in the same voice that he'd used to berate him after Harry had (albeit accidentally) flown quite close to Saturn's rings.

"Don't intend to captain." Harry said looking up to the room.

"See ya Stewart." Harry said and turned to face Stewart Seager.

"Good luck with the magic and all Harry." He waved as the teleport made its noise and Harry Potter disappeared out of the ASCS Hattah teleport room…only to reappear a moment later inside Night Wolf Command.

Lethbridge Stewart looked up, Harry must have at least jogged from the teleport room to get here this fast.

"So what's happened Brigadier?" Harry asked as soon as he'd entered.

"I received this, this morning." Lethbridge Stewart handed Harry a note of parchment.

_Greyhound Leader._

_Harry asked me to inform you when it happened._

_The Daily Prophet broke the story of Dumbledore's charges (all of them) today._

_The Prophet didn't report how Dumbledore had been fined, or if he was going to be sent to Azkaban or what…_

_You might want to ask Harry back at this time, as…whatever plan he has may need to step up._

_Moony._

"Right…well looks like I should be heading back then Brig…" Harry said after a momentary pause he handed back the letter. "When is good for me to take Remus to the Inferno site?"

Harry had asked him if he could initially take Remus to the Inferno site with Colonel Jones as Remus had clearance…just to explain the finner points of the plan, just in case there was anything that they had all overlooked. They would also be able to discuss the placement of people for the coming battle and how to avoid friendly fire and other such problems.

"Send or drop in with a message Harry and I'll organise it and if he's got the latest of Voldemort's forces." Lethbridge Stewart started, with Voldemort's forces handing back and not attacking in any numbers…possibly because they had removed such a great deal Night Wolf didn't have a clear idea of force numbers.

"I'll ask if they've got numbers." Harry said with a nod. "I should go. Can I drop my stuff from the thylacine training…?" He held up a small backpack.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, as they walked Harry talked on his past three weeks on the _Hattah _and various other things

Harry placed his pack in the room that they were using to plan 'The Plan', for the past few weeks everything had been ticking over and the room had only changed in minor ways…mainly from Colonel Jones and his own work into planning movements for the battle.

"Thanks Brigadier." Harry said after making sure he'd emptied his pockets of anything 'problematic'. "Will be in touch." Then he disappeared in a black swirl of air.

_--//_

_This chapter wasn't going to be this long…but this is the way it turned out, mainly because I wasn't sure where I was going to end it._


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 35**

Birmingham unfolded the note from Remus Lupin which had been delivered some time the previous night courtesy of Harry's owl.

_As per request: Alpha One / Greyhound Leader…_

_Dumbledore has been prosecuted (in a closed session) sentence follows:_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has been _

_ Stripped of all titles _

_ All personal funds will be redirected to those he's stolen from_

_ Any remaining funds will be redistributed to those harmed by his machinations particularly; Lord Harry Potter, the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Ministry of Magic UK and Magical Organisations in Europe and America_

_ He may not hold any rank within the ministry for the rest of his days, he may not hold any position of power for the rest of your days in any area of the world, magical or muggle. _

_ All property deeds are to be transferred to remaining family members (and they may not) return them to him._

_ He will be accompanied by no less than two aurors when he entesr any magical facility, area or household, institution or other area of magic. _

_ He may not leave the bounds of the United Kingdom without written permission from the Minister of Magic UK and the Minister of Magic or other individual in similar position in the country he wants to travel to._

_ All his wands are to be destroyed and the ashes spread around the world._

_Dumbledore will be held within a Gringotts detention cell until the war is over, _

_Wizarding media will be informered (according to Harry) just after Hogwarts has begun._

_Moony._

Birmingham thought on the outcomes listed in the letter as he leaned back in his chair.

He'd discuss it with the Brigadier later, at the moment he was conferencing with the Gibson Desert and Northern Hightlands facilities.

Birmingham could think of several outcomes which hadn't occurred for Dumbledore; extradition would be an excellent idea. The Death Penalty didn't 'officially' exist within the Ministry of Magic, even when he'd been there everyone was placed within Azkaban and your surroundings killed you.

If Dumbledore was going to be out in the normal so called 'muggle' world it wouldn't be diffuclt to have a team 'clean' him up…

But the UN and UNIT frowned upon things such as that and assassinations were rarely sanctioned.

For now Dumbledore was within Gringotts, and was most likely going to stay that way…if he was Harry he'd let Dumbledore out for a little bit to appear before the media to lure out Voldemort…but he would probably remain in detention until the wars' end.

But after he would most likely be moved out to some town away from any magical sources…then if not one of their teams MI5 could monitor him as a potential 'terrorist'…

--//

A few days later a second owl arrived, this time from Harry.

_Troop numbers are currently unknown by the order, according to Moody (after he tried firing a bunch of shots at me), there are known groups operating outwards from an unknown location._

_He says he knows they're not operating from Little Hangleton…_

_Moody supposes they're operating from one of the Pureblood's houses…(just not the one's I've attacked). See map attached, I've tried to mark in where Moody supposes they might be located…but he's still pretty paranoid neither Bill nor Tonks were around for me to interrogate._

_This coming weekend is a Hogsmede weekend, I've checked with Remus, he's got nothing on, would this be a good time to meet so I can explain it all with Colonel Jones along as well?_

_Last Raven_

--//

Lethbridge Stewart walked up the tower delivering the letter to the owl himself.

He was doing it himself rather than delegating it to some one else, mainly because _he _wanted to, to get away from the paper workd that littered his desk once more.

Alistair sighed as he gave the owl who stared at him with far too old and knowing eyes, some days he just wanted to be out 'fighting the good fight' out in the field.

But then he wouldn't be here making sure that those who fought the good fight didn't die in the process and that was what made him work just as hard as they did.

--//

"_Target code name Moony arrival in North East alley; arrival wand user apparition. Target approaching meeting point."_

"Received, continue monitoring all points, I want to know if we have any breaches, stay focused for Last Raven." Jones muttered, he was sitting in a land rover outside one of the houses, it was dirty, scratched and looked like it belonged on a farm.

Which was the point.

Colonel David Jones didn't need to wait long he glanced at the screen propped against the dashboard from a camera hidden in the side of his land rover.

There was a swirl of coalescing blackness which resolved itself moments later into the person.

"_Target code name Last Raven arrival in north alley way; arrival unique to target. Target is…" _

Jones looked at the screen, Harry had walked out of the alley before pausing and leaning against a building looking slowly and carefully around the area, he continued to do this, Jones noticed how much he tensed as a car drove through the village before relaxing, Jones noted that Harry's hand didn't leave his inner pocket where Jones _knew _Harry would have a weapon or more likely _weapons _concealed.

"_Target is approaching meeting point."_

"Received, continue surveillance, record any other…appearances. Do not engage."

"_Received"_

"Sam have you got the parabolic mic set up?"

"_Moving into position now sir…targets are moving around…got a pretty clear signal, but I'm getting some wash in from the juke box and other ancillary noise."_

"Received what channel are we one?"

"_Channel 6 sir."_

"Received."

"_You couldn't have that at Hogwarts?" _Lupin exclaimed, Jones could hear rather loud munching, they had considered bugging the pub, but this village was useful for a covert meet or two and the Brigadier had authorised only one team for security and monitoring purposes…but just in case as events were really beginning to move along it paid to be quite careful in the lead up towards the execution of Harry's plan…and to be doubly sure that it was Harry Potter and Remus Lupin there.

"_Hogwarts is brilliant, the elves to a great job, a fantastic job, better than anywhere…"_

"_Isn't that good?" _Lupin asked curiously once more.

"But sometimes you're left wanting, after all that great food you want something a bit rough around the edges, something that's not perfect, and that makes it better than all that glorious perfectly cooked food. You begin to want something that had maybe been a little burnt, an egg that is a little too runny or a bit over cooked. Do you want a piece?"

Jones smiled to himself, only Harry could discuss something in such a passionate yet irrelevant manner for so long.

"_So you want something imperfect, something which a whole kitchen worth of people haven't worked on to perfection." _Lupin asked ponderously.

Jones found himself nodding to that statement, perfection was never really perfect and from what he had read of the house elves…anything created by them would be so perfect…he shrugged to himself.

"_Exactly. Look around the table the next time you eat, the potatoes are always perfectly soft, melt in your mouth, the meat is always cooked to perfection, the salad everything is balanced exactly."_

Jones clicked the radio back to the other channel as he got out of the land rover.

"Continue surveillance, retrieving targets. Out."

Jones walked into the pub making a bee line toward the two, Lupin was staring at Harry in a slightly annoyed 'I give up arguing with you' manner.

"You're a bit odd Harry." Remus chuckled at Harry.

"But aren't we all." Jones said from a small distance behind them, Harry turned around and Jones started walking toward the door.

Jones got in the land rover and waited a moment as Harry and Remus Lupin got in, Remus sat in the back while Harry joined him at the front.

"So how's everything going with…" Harry paused for a second as Jones drove out of the village, Jones turned to look to Harry who seemed to be thinking on the correct word to use without letting on anything about his 'plan'.

"The plan and the stuff about the plan…"

"Good…you've created a lot of paper work for the Brig."

"He said it was all good with Geneva!" Harry exclaimed with a smile in his defence.

"He would have probably done it without Geneva's approval Harry, and there'd probably be just as much paper work."

"Yeah but still, at least I came up with a way to sort it out…"

"Yeah…still keeping yourself fighting fit…"

"Yeah…"

"And the larger you had for lunch?" Jones said with a smile.

Harry punched him lightly on the arm.

"Hey, I have a lot of stuff on my mind…"

"Plans to make, schemes to plot…" Jones chuckled.

--//

"Harry where is this?" Remus Lupin who had been silent the trip to the Inferno site asked in a slightly worried voice as they passed the various military warning signs on the way into the site, Jones made a mental not to have some of them removed…'Danger Nuclear Materials' didn't really lend itself to making you feel secure…not that there were any nuclear materials, there hadn't been any there since the 70s when the nuclear reactor had been operating, but with the close of operations it had all bee dismantled and removed.

"I'll tell you once we get in there."

Jones stopped the land rover between some wooden pallets from which you could see much of the facility.

"No one can hear us right?" Harry him as they got out. Remus looked between him and Harry, Jones thought the question was probably more for Remus Lupin's benefit that Harry's.

"Nup, there's an air exclusion zone, no one can get in or out." He nodded upwards, Remus glanced to the sky thoughtfully.

"Good, Remus this is where I want to have the final battle with Voldemort." Harry said gesturing around an odd smile on his face.

"Ok…" Remus said slowly. "How Harry?" Remus said.

Harry took a deep breath… Jones watched Remus and wondered how he would cope with the ideas.

"I don't want you to go mad, so you know just take a deep breath and think for a moment." Remus stared at Harry's after he made that comment.

"What are you planning Harry?" Remus asked in a moderately worried tone.

"I'm going to lead him here." Harry began to pace before stopping and leaning against one of the pallets. Remus opened his mouth to ask but Harry continued. "By releasing the details of Dumbledore, he'll probably send me a message, even if he doesn't I'll send one wanting to talk maybe I'll seem a little naïve about the whole thing, either way he'll come in force."

Jones nodded it wasn't that bad, Remus didn't look all that well though.

"The order, everyone, even Ron and Hermione will be here to contain the people, and whatever else he brings; that's Trolls, the Giants who've taken his side, any vampires that are left, everyone." Harry paused in his enlightenment of 'the plan', Lupin looked quite worried.

"Then I'm going to battle him." Harry said simply.

"You're going to battle him." Lupin repeated in the voice that said he really wasn't sure about all of this and even if he was he wasn't takin it all that well.

"Then trap him inside something and spray him with liquid nitrogen, freezing him. Then I'm going to transmat him into a box, take him to another galaxy." Harry paused.

"Another galaxy." Remus repeated and looked to the sky. Jones looked too and wondered what was so fascinating…or maybe Lupin was expecting the sky to fall and it all be a dream.

"That's where I was for that month I was away." Harry said by way of an explanation.

Lupin just nodded slowly sniffing the air and then decided to take great lung fulls. Jones watched carefully, Lupin wasn't hyperventilating…just yet.

"Then Voldemort is going to be turned back into his wholesome self…" Harry continued seemingly unaware, or just ploughing on with his explanation.

"So he suffocates in space?" Remus suddenly said with a hope in his voice.

"Whatever organic portion of his soul survived without a body the last time… so I've got a plan to eliminate him _totally." _Now Harry paused and held up his hands in a 'wait' manner. "Now this next bit is going to sound a little extreme."

Jones snorted he couldn't help that, Harry's plan didn't just sound extreme it was mad…when you said it simply of course…when explained it was a totally…not mad but certainly thorough plan…

"I don't even know what you would call extreme Harry…" Lupin started to say.

"I'm going to remove a section of the sun's mass." Lupin looked at him blankly. Harry sighed.

"I'm going to blow up a sun, complete totally obliterating Voldemort."

Lupin swore, a long set of expletives Jones raised an eyebrow, in at least 2 languages and at least one other obscure dialect, then leaned over breathing heavily.

"This isn't our sun?" He finally said after a moment or two.

"No. In fact you can't even see its light from Earth." David felt he'd better add.

"Remus I told _you._ Because have clearance for me to tell you this. I need you to help me convince the Order…when the time is right." Harry said carefully.

Lupin leaned against the land rover's bonnet he appeared to be _trying_ not to break into hysterics.

Jones thought now was the best time to break in with some related news and break the ice on the whole 'blow up a sun' thing which was for some a strange concept, but Jones had been working in Night Wolf and UNIT for far too long for that to be a real problem

"Harry, the Brig says that the missile is ready, the Dwarf Star Alloy is ready…but we're going to leave it to the last moment to turn into a portkey, which means it's going to be done on the ship and transmatted to the missile your craft will carry." Jones said casually.

Harry nodded while watching Lupin stare off into the distance breathing heavily.

"What about the box?"

"The Brig got a report from the Gibson Desert facility. They need another 2 weeks to finish it and then incorporate it into your craft, the Brig suggests getting Shadow Blaze down there ASAP." Jones stated.

"I'll do that tomorrow. Anything else?" Harry said looking at Remus.

"The Brig wanted you and I, and him to discuss what my team will be doing here, plus minor details, how you're going to get him and hold him in the exact position for the transmat…that sort of thing." Jones said casually, considering Harry had just explained bits of how he was going to do that to Lupin, Jones wanted to know exactly what Harry had in mind.

"I'm working on it, I'll have to ask the Brig about the shielding wood, whether they've got some lying around from our P788 trip, that should be able to hold him." Harry ran a hand through his hair and looked from Jones to Lupin.

"And let you get the liquid N through?" Jones asked curiously.

"Probably. I'll do some tests, tomorrow." Harry walked over to Remus and patted him on the back. "Now do you see why I've hung off on telling anyone?" Harry asked with a smile to Jones.

"Harry if I didn't know you already, I would say this was insane." Lupin coughed.

"I hope there's a but coming." Harry said in an amused tone.

"But, knowing you, this is a plan…and if it gets rid of Voldemort and stops him coming back then it's a brilliant plan. It's still mad." Lupin said finally.

"So can you convince them?" Harry asked looking at Remus.

"Maybe…" He said slightly unsure.

"Without telling them everything I've told you." Harry added.

"When?" Lupin finally sighed in resignation.

"When Dumbledore's status gets out to the media."

"You mean the Prophet?"

"And the WWN." Harry added.

"I'll have to bring them here, Moody and Tonks will want to plan it all out."

"Fine, that's fine right?" Harry turned to Jones, he nodded.

"Already cleared."

"Good. Well tomorrow I'm going to drop in on some people, and by Monday the news will be out, Voldemort will wait a few days maybe a week then I wait a few days before replying and then it should all be a go." Harry said countig the days off on his hand.

"Cutting it fine, what if Voldemort doesn't take the bait?" Jones asked.

"I was thinking that too." Lupin added.

"Voldemort is many things, he likes to gloat, seeing Dumbledore struck down like that, plus it makes for the best time to…" Harry trailed off before smiling "'Recruit me', I've thought this through." Harry said making air quotes.

"I'll drive you back into town." Jones offered after a moment.

"Why can't we leave from here?" Lupin asked seemingly recovered enough.

"Ah! I knew I'd forgetting something." Harry exclaimed. "Obviously if this is going to be a trap, and if I'm going to pick a location randomly to have our battle it's got to be free of magic, hence the driving."

"Like your house." Lupin stated. That must be his house in Australia, Jones thought to himself.

"Yes…so that's another thing that you'll have to tell the order about." Harry added.

"That's a long walk from the village." Lupin said with a frown.

"Meet in the village then disillusioned on brooms. Like when I was rescued from the Durseley's." Harry said with a shrug.

Remus nodded. "Moody will appreciate that. Still seems like a wonky plan, what if he doesn't bring all his forces?"

"I'm still a threat, _the Station_ proved that, I'm betting he will, if he's coming alone he will expect me to bring some people, but not everyone, which is partly where Jones's team comes in." Harry said as they got into the land rover.

"My team, I was wondering when…" Jones trailed off, he knew what he personally had in mind but he wondered what Harry and his devious mind had in mind.

"Snipers as far away as you can get, you'll be picking out his followers, the stragglers and whatever so they don't notice before it's too late." Jones nodded, that was what he had in mind…they'd just need to be sure to hit the people in masks, and the really quite tall and ugly people.

"There'll also need to be anti-apparition wards which we can snap up among other things, I'm sure the Order will have some ideas."

"It's not _so _insane Harry…" Remus started to say.

"Oh goody." Harry deadpanned.

"But I'm going to have a hard time convincing Moody of what the outcome will be."

"He knows the prophecy." Harry said with a shrug.

"That doesn't guarantee you to win." Remus said solemnly.

"No but it will guarantee Moody of an outcome." Harry smiled sweetly.

Jones raised an eyebrow, an outcome…either Harry dies fighting or he lives, not the best kind of outcome.

"Fine…I'll work on him." Lupin said after a moment and climbed back into the land rover.

"Good." Harry smiled to himself.

Jones drove back towards the village and before pulling down into a small lane and into a driveway of an old, yet well kept and currently empty house.

"This is UNIT safe house, it can be used as your staging area for your Order…Remus…" Jones reached over and grabbed a post it not that he'd stuck on the dash it contained a set of coordinates, according to his briefings with Birmingham the wand'rs could '_apparate_' using coordinates. He passed it back to Lupin and got out of the land rover.

"For apparating?" Lupin asked once they were out.

"So we can leave from here?" Harry said.

Jones nodded.

"Thank you for the lift Colonel Jones…Harry I'll see you back at Hogwarts." Harry nodded and with a pop Remus disappeared.

"Can you tell the Brig I'll be over tomorrow?" Harry asked,

"Sure Harry…I heard about your Thylacine training, good work." Jones said with a smile.

"Ever thought about it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Nah, more of a ground person, two feet on the ground walking around…all that space…I want to be inside something bigger than a car. If I'm fighting something."

"It's brilliant…amazing…I think I ran out of adjectives to describe it."

"I'll see you tomorrow Harry, or should that be Sorcerer Pilot Officer Potter?" Jones said with a smile.

"If you want _Colonel_ Jones. Ta ta…" Harry gave a wave like a performer and disappeared silently into the wind.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart looked at the trolley of materials that Harry had 'requisitioned', himself, Birmingham and Harry were outside, Birmingham was looking at the quickly sketched plan on a piece of paper while Harry explained the finer points.

"So I was thinking how I was going to hold Voldemort…liquid nitrogen…it's fine enough to go through a shield, all I have to do is manoeuvre Voldemort into the right spot…"

"The transmat coordinates." Lethbridge Stewart stated suddenly.

"Yeah…then activate the shield which should stop him from cursing be and hold him for long enough to spray him with it…and then simple as transmatting him up…"

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, it was…an interesting solution, one that could only come from the Harry Potter that was standing before him.

The other materials on the trolled was a spade, a canister of oxygen and several off cuts of the P788 wood.

Harry was already starting to dig as he explained further.

"But I'm not stupid enough to think it'll work, that's why I asked Birmingham to come along and test it, both ways, me inside the shield and cursing outwards and Birmingham spraying the oxygen in and …"

"And me standing in the shield spraying out…"

"Just to cover every eventuality…"

After an hour of two and a bit of coughing here and there it was ascertained that it would in fact work.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded to himself and pushed up the second trolled he'd asked for, and had been leaning on.

"Now you want to try the liquid nitro Harry?" Birmingham asked with a smile.

"Yes preferably without me inside thank you Birmingham." Harry muttered sarcastically.

"Here Harry, special delivery…" Lethbridge Stewart pushed up the trolley, on it was a pig…a whole, dead one, and beside it a tank of Liquid Nitrogen with all the various warning labels on it.

It took some simply levitation, rather than man handling to get the pig into the right position.

Then Harry took the thick hose aiming it at the pig that was propped up inside the shielded area.

"Protego!" Birmingham said next to him, the shields shimmered into life from the wood below them each seemingly bouncing from one another for a second.

"Now you just flick the leaver and…" Harry followed the Brig's directions.

Some of it seemed to flick off the shields but most of it flowed straight through covering and freezing the pig.

"10 seconds." The Brig said looking at a stop watch.

"10 seconds?" Harry said as the nitrogen ran out.

"That's how long it took to cover it effectively Harry."

"And that's the most workable size of tank also…you don't want a huge thing lying around a battle site." Birmingham state.

Harry nodded.

"One less thing to be concerned about…" Harry said pinching the brow of his nose and closing his eyes for a moment.

_--//_

_A few scenes reused from chapters 50 and 51 of (Sorcery, UNITed, Independence, Space), but almost all of it has been re-written to express a new point of view in this story._

_Thanks for reading._


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 36**

"Hermione, totally wants to know where I keep 'disappearing' to. I think she wants to join up."

"I thought you said she wanted to go to university?" Birmingham asked curiously after the completion of their testing of one of the final portions of Harry's plan they were having a casual lunch together; himself, Harry and the Birgadier, Harry looked as though he needed to…talk, about it didn't appear to matter just anything he just seemed like he needed a talk.

"I think she wants both, she worked out to some insane stuff about the letter you sent me after seeing two letters."

"How so Harry?" Lethbridge Stewart asked genuinely curious to Granger's deductive skills.

"She only got a glimpse for a few seconds…" Harry said taking a sip of his mug of tea. "First she said it was in an envelope, a normal non-wizarding one…"

"No jump of the imagination there Harry…they know you have acquaintances outside of Hogwarts not attached to us?"

"That's what I said!" Harry announced. "She went on to say that it was an A4 piece of paper, not parchment…then Hermione said she '_accidentally_' saw two letters an 'a' and an 'e'…she recognised them from her parents computer…"

"But I didn't send a printed letter Harry…" The Brigadier interrupted reasonably.

"Haven't finished Brigadier…then…I wasn't sure if she was making these jumps of knowledge but…" Harry shook his head to himself. "She said that while it looked like something that had come out of a printer, it had in fact…probably been written with an ink well pen…then she added…from previous '_accidental_' eavesdroppings on my other letters that they'd been written in ball point pen which usually pressed through the paper…"

"Creating an indentation…probably how she eavesdropped on your letters…" The Brigadier suggested.

"By reading the indentations…backwards?" Harry asked incredulously, before frowning and nodding to himself. "It's likely…so she continued that as it was written with an ink well it would have needed a good quality backing to it…and then she some how concluded that, I guess from the letters she saw that you probably have to sign your name a lot…or use the inkwell pen to do so…and this is the person who I have to sneak around…well now I just tell her I'm on doing secret stuff…I think Hermione's happy that I'm telling her I'm doing something secret rather than just disappearing." Harry finished his tale by vigorously attacking his meal before him.

"She sounds as though she's level headed enough to cope with the information…" Birmingham mused, Lethbridge Stewart nodded his ascent.

Harry swallowed and gave them a puzzled look.

"Let me explain Harry, despite there being quite a few people from the 'wizarding world' here there are still some…some people who don't understand and much worse, react badly upon learning about all this…" Birmingham explained slowly as he gestured around them.

"Your friend Remus, he was astounded, however because of the secularism of 'wizarding society' he has lived on the outskirts of that society." Birmingham explained.

It was in many occasions considering the persecution of werewolves easier for them to understand UNIT and Night Wolf's world, partly because as they were forced to live on the outskirts of the wizarding world or in the normal world they were more perceptive to the 'strange' things, such as the various alien invasion attempts and megalomaniacal computers trying to take over the world…not that the latter happened that often.

Being on the outskirts led to an easier transition and understanding than; by someone from the centre of wizarding society their beliefs were more strongly concreted in, also it wasn't just the wizards, many people from the world outside of the wizarding world did not cope well with the truth both UNIT's and Night Wolf, many recruits cracked within the few weeks, or months and withdrew from the organization, never wanting to be bothered by it or know anything more about UNIT's operations, it was simply _too much_ for them to deal with, to wrap their world view around and into.

"I know…sort of…that's why I've been working at keep my…complicated plan as secret as possible, hopefully at the end, with the help of Jones and everyone there'll only be a few people that actually see Voldemort dematerialise, and even then there's enough similarity between that and apparition, so hopefully…no one will know, well that's _the plan…_" Harry smiled putting emphasis on the name, it was better than 'Harry's plan' in any case.

Lethbridge Stewart and the Brigadier nodded as Harry pushed himself away from the table.

"Well, I should head off…I'll try to send word when I next expect the order to look in at the Inferno…"

"You'll confirm the coordinates with Gibson Harry for the demat?"

"Yep, got them written down here." Harry patted his pocket.

After Harry had left and Birmingham had retrieved another mug of tea for himself and the Brigadier they sat discussing everything.

"I have my preliminary list of sorcerers to take with my to charm to dwarf star alloy."

"Good…the estimate is it will take around 2 weeks to reach the coordinates according to _Firefox_."

"So a week or so from now…" Birmingham mused to himself. "What did you think of Harry's story of Granger's deductive reasoning?"

"It backs up what her school report and her final General Assesment Test highlighted…aptitude for problem solving, information retention and a high intelligence." Lethbridge Stewart stated.

"Which you know are all suggested reasons why some people burn out and leave." Birmingham countered reasonably.

"You are right…however Birmingham all those were older scientists or academics more set in their ideas…"

Birmingham nodded.

"What would you say if I said myself, Professor Preston and Professor Wynne have been considering furthering this…"

"This what? Granger?"

"Bringing in university students…giving them training on our research bases and within the research facilities on Earth…giving them experience…" Lethbridge Stewart asked his friend and second in command.

Birmingham thought for a while.

"It's an interesting plan…what does Geneva think?"

"They are curious…and we're going to need people familiar with other planets and our work Birmingham…a class or two for an History major in Earth invasions, or an archaeology student to learn some xeno-archaeology in the field would be valuable than re-teaching a PH.d graduate…" Lethbridge Stewart said almost excitedly.

"Yes…what about Sorcerers? Apothecaries and other magical integrations and utilities specialists?"

"Exactly Birmingham…something for you to think on while you're on your journey." Lethbridge Stewart smiled. Birmingham sighed, he'd let himself get caught in that one.

Birmingham shook his head, the Brigadier chuckled to himself.

"Very well, what sort of things should I be considering Brigadier?"

"Miss Granger is a start…you know as well, even better than I do that a lot of people from the wand user's world go into Hogwarts and then…"

"Are left to stagnate in their stagnant world," Birmingham said slightly bitter. "Britain is the worst offender…it won't be easy Alistair…we have an in with Harry and his friend Miss Granger…locating others…even with the gaps left via their Hogwarts education in the system is still a job and a half…"

"I just want ideas from you Birmingham, how to approach them, what processes…what you think would be valuable to know…and not just wand users…regular sorcerers as well."

"So no holiday for me then Brigadier?" Birmingham said with a smile.

"Not unless you need it Birmingham." Lethbridge Stewart regarded him seriously now. "The last thing I want it you burning out."

"No Brigadier, no chance of that…I have my time off, as you do…or you should."

"I try Birmingham."

"You should try harder, _I _don't want _you _burning out."

"As you said no chance of that with us work horses."

"Speak for yourself Brigadier, I'm an old wolf." Birmingham chuckled as the Brigadier laughed.

--//

Professor Preston looked up as her computer screen flashed red, that was…some what disconcerting, considering it signalled an alert and a possible threat to her facility.

Hitting a button it switched to a video feed from the flight operations control centre.

"What's the emergency?"

"We've got a radio signal coming through…"

"That doesn't explain the alert Johnson."

"We're not reading anything on _any _of our sensors…the tracking on the radio signal suggests that it…that it's just above the doors."

"Let me hear the signal." She sighed.

"_Gibson Desert, my vessel could be under a Fidellius or it could be invisible, open the doors I am expected check with UNIT Night Wolf UK." _Came a slightly annoyed, though recognisable voice.

"Do we have notice from Night Wolf?"

"…" There was silence for a short moment.

"Johnson?"

"Just checking Professor…there was a note down, though it was assumed given the vessel's size that it would be transported via ship or transmat…not just appear…"

"Give him clearance, give him coordinates closest to the Matter Transmission research labs."

"Professor."

Tegan Vleugal watched as the deep black craft floated down and came to rest before them…it was…she paused thinking to herself. It wasn't anything like any of the craft that were constructed in the Gibson Desert Construction and Research facility…it was…your eye almost slid off the matt black features…but there were still small parts where things which might have been weapons jutted out from it. Suddenly a canopy…what she realised was a canopy and not just a bump in the skin of the craft unsealed without a sound or hiss of atmosphere being released.

"Sorcerer Potter. Thank you for bringing your craft."

"Professor Vleugal." Sorcerer Pilot Officer Harry Potter said smiling reassuringly to the collected scientists and engineers.

"Sorcerer…do you have the coordinates so I can work with which ever craft we're going to end up using…"

"Here. That's the final coordinates that we've worked out…down to the centermeter."

"Thank you. Would you like to see the transmat cage?" Tegan Vleugal asked.

"Cage?" Harry Potter asked curiously.

"The device which will hold the transmat within it for the duration of the trip…this way…"

"That's going to hold him?" Harry Potter asked slightly curious.

The transmat cage had been built from scratch using various pieces which had been discarded throughout the transmat's development into a safe piece of technology for use aboard the UNIT ships and within the various facilities.

At it's core was a 50 cm box designed to hold the transmat energy and signal within it, around the outside were all the various electronics to keep the signal within the cage, stop it from leaking out and to interface with the ship's transmat technology to allow it to extricate the signal from the cage and rematerialise it in space.

"Very probably…" She started. "All the tests were favourable."

"That's…good…as long as it works." He said staring at the box.

"The majority of the tests were very favourable."

"Majority?" Potter turned regarding her.

"There's a 1 in 20 chance that if there is a power drop when we re-materialise the person some of the control circuits both in the box and on the ship will…malfunction and the subject will be turned inside out or rematerialise not breathing." Which had happed in quite a bit more than 1 in 20…but in theory now most of the bugs had been worked out. Considering many of her colleagues and herself had worked to make the transmat as safe as possible, and now this cage had to bypass a lot of the safety measures…there was going to be a degree problems…initially.

"Well since I intend to blow up a sun that shouldn't be too much of a problem…"

"If there is a problem and this 1 in 20 chance happens…"

"There may be enough energy left in the box for him to sustain whatever organic energy as he did 17 years ago." Harry Potter cut her off, she was about to say…that if her was going to blow the subject up it couldn't matter/

"We will be working on getting that figure up to a 1 in 100 chance…we'll know more once it's fitted to your vessel." When connected they'd know how much power they had to use, only a small proportion of the power could come from the ASCS/RSCS ship, given the radiation concerns when operating in such a close proximity to a star.

"Just ask her nicely when you're doing anything." He said with a smile.

"It's sentient?"

"Relatively." Harry admitted. "She'll probably defend herself."

"Right." Vleugal nodded seriously.

"Just out of interest do you have the Dwarf Star…"

"Alloy here? Yes it's down with the missile they're just adjusting it some more to carry the weight."

"How heavy is it?" He asked curiously.

"I've been using this as a trial element for the transmat." She tensed gripped the small box with the two large handles on each side, it was only just below the recommended weight to be lifted by one person.

"That's unbelievable!" Sorcerer Potter took the box giving her a quizzical look, there was a definite strain on his face as he took the box and quickly replaced it on her desk.

"Isn't it? Indestructible too, it'll survive the sun which means we can retrieve it after…your plan."

"What could it be used for…we couldn't build ships out of it could we?" He pondered to himself.

"Not that I'm a space ship designer, but I wouldn't think so, my bet is for holding something…"

"Intergalactic tow rope?" Harry said lightly.

She chuckled. "It was suggested, but right now we've got a few minuet lumps of it, no way to break it up into a useable structure, so for now it's another unknown quirky mineral."

"Well I've got to go…I'll probably see you just before I pick Shadow Blaze up."

"Shadow Blaze?"

"The name of my ship."

"I see."

"Any problems…I think contact Night Wolf and they'll pass it on to me."

Harry turned to go.

"Just one question Sorcerer."

"Yeah?"

"How did you dematerialise?" She was curious to discover exactly what ability it was.

"Everlasting Raven." Vleugal made a mental note of the name, after she'd finished the work on the cage…and the report on the new transmats…and everything else.

"A wand user ability?" She asked curiously once more, hoping for extra information

"Not quite, no wand needed."

"So no technology used, it's a biological impulse?" Vleugal asked slightly deflated.

"Right…no application there then…" There was no practical use in a biological impulse method of matter transmission, just as with the wand user matter transmission.

"Ok this doesn't mean you're going to tie me up and do things to me does it?" Potter asked in a worried tone.

"Not unless you're going to pay me for it." She laughed at Harry's shocked expression.

"No…there are plenty of people out there that would want to do that to me for free… and not for my pleasure." He paused and smiled curiously. "Now I've got to go and bait the trap…Afternoon Professor." Potter disappeared in a swirl of what some might call black wind before even that disappeared.

Jones and his team were inside 'The plan' room, the room that had been given over to Harry's plan…and all that pertained to it. He and the team were going over some final points before they went for a scout around the Inferno site in preparation for the final assault.

It was then that he heard a noise behind them, and considering the door was on the other side of room in full view…he nodded to the others who had also heard it and drew their gun turning quickly around.

"Hey…And oddly enough that isn't off putting, makes me feel kind of homey…not sure why…maybe you should try some verbal threats…maybe try intimidating me…" Harry said wistfully not moving.

"Sorcerer Potter." Jones smiled as he holstered his weapon.

"Colonel Jones. I was just passing through, the Order, well 4 people and myself are stopping by the Inferno site, thought I'd better give you warning just in case."

"Sir, even if we were there they wouldn't know." Lt Parkin stated.

"Well I just needed to stop by the stores and grab a GPS if this plan's going to come together I'll need to show them where _not _to stand." He muttered to himself.

"We'll get along there so these guys can see 'The Order', if you don't mind."

Harry shrugged. "Just don't get noticed, I'm making sure none of them use any magic, but we'll be using brooms to get there."

Jones nodded.

"Well we're heading there in around 2 hours is that enough time for you to get there?"

Jones nodded as Harry left the room.

"Sam, Tim grab the gear, Francesca get down to the teleport get them to hold up the ship for 10 minutes."

There was a flurry of Sirs before they left.

15 minutes later they rematerialised next to their gear and a land rover that had been transmatted to the location moments ago.

"Get the jammer set up…according to Harry they coordinates are down there at out 1 o'clock." Jones gestured downwards from where they were located at a small incline to the main site.

"Sam."

"Parabolic mic and cameras Sir…"

"Good, I'll move the land rover away, I want to check the main gates to make sure the signs have been removed."

Jones stared through his binoculars at the ground where 4 wand users and Harry Potter had uncovered themselves from being invisible a moment ago. Despite the darkness the moon above them and the torches that all the wanders carried was enough to sight them all.

Turning the dial on the volume for his set of headphones he listed intently to their conversations.

"_Where's Moody?"_ Asked Harry Potter.

"_Checking the outer perimeter. Odd place you've chosen Harry. I like it."_ Stated a man with red hair, Jones had seen this man before…Bill Weasley.

"_Really?"_ Harry Potter asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yup, the muggle machinery over there from what I could see you would only just be able to fly through there, walking would be single file. And here, it's a veritable maze…but with a lot of places to hide and take shots at people, how'd you settle on this place?"_ Bill Weasley said gesturing around the him.

Potter seemed to smile to himself for a moment before replying._ "After a lot of searching."_

There was suddenly a sound of movement through wind as a one of the wand users flew over their position.

The broom rider didn't fall out of the sky and neither did their equipment stop functioning.

"Jammer still functioning Colonel." Lt Parkin commented.

The jammer they were using was a new version, a new model which Night Wolf had been working on for some time, in between producing the full higher powered versions.

This version was much lower power and had a much smaller footprint of jamming, and was mainly designed for surveillance, it was even…almost light enough to carry, when it was dissembled into two or three parts.

Jones watched as a fifth figure became visible. He spoke after looking all around him and straight toward their position, from his position Jones could see the…weird prosthetic eye almost moving of it's own accord.

"_No muggles anywhere in the area. The closest muggle is in the town, which even from where we left from was a distance away."_ Jones smiled to himself, Sarah Palmer would be pleased that the new jammer worked against…the weird eye…thing.

"_So what do you think?" _Harry Potter asked curiously.

"_Harry why this location, why out here amongst all this?" _The younger woman asked curiously looking around.

"_I wanted somewhere secure somewhere away from everyone, somewhere that wasn't on his turf."_

Harry shrugged to himself and withdrew from his jacket pocket a small shape which appeared to be the GPS he'd acquired earlier from Night Wolf. The man with the deformed face; Moody went to draw a weapon…most likely his wand.

"_Don't draw your wand Moody." Harry Potter sighed grumpily. "I just want to be able show you where I intend to…destroy Voldemort…" _Potter said casually.

"_Destroy…" _Bill Weasley and the woman said together, Jones wondered for a moment if he was in a panto.

Remus Lupin was keeping himself carefully away and out of the main conversation, the man Moody moved over to him, Jones could barely make out the conversation.

…_you're quiet… he told…ou?" _

"_Harry…explained… detail his plan…it will see…end to Voldemort…" _Lupin muttered an answer.

"…_is he going…rest of the ord.. in on his whole plan?"_

Jones didn't hear the answer but Lupin did shake his head, slightly. Moody appeared to ask a question of Remus Lupin.

"_Because there are some things even you; Moody can't understand." _Harry Potter said as he walked up behind the pair startling them. Gesturing to an area between two high pallets.

"_There, that's where I intend to…remove him."_

"_Why there?" _The young woman asked.

"_I brought you guys out here so you could see the site, so you could work up a strategy…so you can work out how to combat Voldemort's forces. I can't explain everything." _Harry Potter said slowly.

"_Why Harry? You trust us don't you?" _Bill Weasley and Moody turned to stare at Harry Potter.

"_It's a question of security, the less people who know the whole plan the less chance…"_

"_That we would betray?" _Moody asked gruffly, he appeared to be moving his hand towards his weapon / wand once more.

"_That I would be able to come up with a workable plan B." _Harry Potter turned and looked around him. _"I'll just wander into the dark while you talk about it, please, please do no use your wands…" _Potter turned and walked away into the shadows cast by the pallets in the moon light.

" So…" Bill Weasley muttered leaning against one of the pallets.

"Remus? Harry's told you his whole plan?" The young woman asked.

"Yes. In confidence that I wouldn't speak of it to anyone else."

"Do you trust his judgment?" Bill Weasley asked, Remus nodded.

"Moody?"

"This place is better than any for a battle…is Harry certain he will bring this battle to a favorable outcome?" Moody asked glancing around as the wind whipped through the area. Jones idly wondered what had made the man so disfigured and paranoid.

"He's certain it will be the final battle…isn't that what you're asking Moody?" Remus Lupin asked.

"Perhaps…there are still too many variables."

Harry walked back up behind the group.

"_Well?"_

"_How are you going to trap him?" _Moody asked studying Harry Potter.

"_A shield." _He replied simply.

"_How are you going to battle him if you're using your wand to keep up the shield?" _Moody asked gruffly again.

"_I never said I was going to use my wand, I used other ways at the station battle…Moody I've had a year of hard work to prepare for this, I've planned this out to a fine point…but I need you and the order, I even need Ron and Hermione and any others…" _ Harry stated and trailed off looking to the others.

"_Why Ron and Hermione?" _Bill Weasley asked suspiciously.

"_The order isn't complete, there are people laid up in St Mungos, I want Voldemort's entire force here…but obviously he's going to take advantage of that and send other raids out."_

"_Why?" _Jones stared at Bill Weasley through his binoculars and wondered exactly how they'd managed to fight a war for this long if they needed someone to spell out simple…

"_Tactics, keep the enemy busy with your main force while you other forces while he uses smaller groups to take out key facilities." _Harry Potter replied simply. Jones nodded to Harry's comments all the while hoping that other members of 'The Order' had a better eye for battle tactics than this group.

"_So you're saying you want the order at the Ministry?" _The young woman…Tonks asked.

"_And at Hogwarts and elsewhere that you think is important."_

"_And all this in…"_Weasley trailed off waiting for a reply.

"_Hopefully two weeks." _Harry said with a vague smile. "_Well?"_

"_Alright Potter…Harry. You're vague with the details, but you've obviously thought this through." _The group turned and stared at Moody.

"_His responses are just vague enough, I'm sure that who ever he's told understands the reasons why he's not informing us…" _Moody stared at Remus Lupin for his entire conversation, who in turn stared back at Harry.

"_Good so you'll get the order together to work some things out, and with your permission I'll inform Ron, Hermione and anyone else who's trustworthy?" _Harry stated in a voice that said he would tell his friend and that this was simply a courtesy.

"_Why?"_

"_Can you tell me honestly, based on whatever information that you've collected thus far on Voldemort's forces that with the order in the state that it is. That you'll be able to A: Defend me B: Take out Voldemort's forces and C: Contain them once he's gone?"_

Moody stared at Harry, the weird eye wobbling around as though trying to intimidate Harry out of his truthful comments.

"_Very well…we should return…"_

Moments they took to the sky on their brooms, shimmering out of sight as they reached a high altitude. Leaving just Harry and Remus.

"_I didn't think you'd convince them." _Remus Lupin admitted.

"_As I said there will be an outcome, Moody knows that this war can't go on forever…he also…" _Harry trailed off bringing a finger to his lips.

"_Nice try Moody." _Harry clapped Remus Lupin on the shoulder pointed straight up, Jones raised an eyebrow as Harry reached up tugging at a piece of invisible cloth, Moody was hovering centimeters above Harry and Remus Lupin.

"_Come on, we should head on back." _

A moment later they site was empty once more.

Jones grabbed at the night vision binoculars to check over the site.

"Did you get all the footage?" Francesca nodded beside him.

"Good. We can use it and other as a friend and foe guide." Jones commented.

"Wait a second…" He muttered and picked up the night vision binoculars once more, a single figure flew back, moon light shimmering over his invisibility cloak covering the man's bulk. The man, obviously Moody circled the area twice before turning back towards where his fellows had gone.

"Right we'll wait another 30 minutes in case they come back and then do a check of the site with the jammer, just in case."

"Sir."

_--//_

_This chapter was going to end with Birmingham and the Brigadier's conversation, but I decided to bring in a bunch of other scenes rather than stretching them into other chapters._


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 37**

"The ASCS Flinders will be transporting yourself and your crew of Sorcerers Birmingham…are they all prepared?"

"Yes…" Birmingham nodded not all the Sorcerers who were proficient with a wand wanted or even had any inclination to go into space…it had been a task to find those who were inclined to assist. It would have been no use in ordering them to go, creating an accurate portkey…especially for the task which they wanted it to perform, it needed to be accurate and powerful.

There was a knock on the door before someone walked in, generally speaking that meant it was only one person.

"Harry."

"Birmingham, Brigadier. Thought I'd drop by, got a letter from Voldemort…things are afoot." Harry paused and frowned to himself seemingly wondering why he used that phrase. He shook himself slightly and passed the letter to the Brigadier who read it silently before passing it to Birmingham.

_Lord Harry Potter,_

_I see you have done what I could never accomplish._

_You have destroyed Dumbledore, killed him from his old and tired bones right through._

_I applaud you…the wizarding world shall fall beneath my feet._

_I have heard that you have taken none of the lies from the old man, hitting out with your new power. Again I applaud you for your actions…_

_Your actions at Kings Cross station…I should want to crucio you into insanity for that…situation, but yet again…that sign of power…and willing to use it against some of my most capable…_

_This fighting should not continue._

_Together you and I might rule the world…meet and join me, together we might rule over the wizarding world, and crush weak enough to be below us, and Lord over those who would think they should stand above us._

_I shall meet you so that you might see my army…join me Harry Potter…_

_Dumbledore the leader of the light has fallen there is only death ahead, join me and we shall rule eternal._

_Send a reply via the Hogsmede owls to Thomas…I am sure you remember where…_

_Lord Voldemort._

Birmingham passed the not back to Harry.

"Your plans for the letter?" He said as Harry took a seat with them.

"To wait…for enough thinking time…and to ascertain that all elements of the plan are falling into place."

Birmingham glanced at his watch it was quickly approaching the departure time.

"I should be leaving, Brigadier, Harry." Birmingham said as he rose from his chair.

"Why?" Harry twisted in his chair in query.

"I am leading the team of Sorcerers to create the portkey we have for use in the system; to transmat to the missile on your craft, we're leaving the actual charming to the last moment to give it all the power it can."

"But why are you leaving now…I haven't even left yet…"

"Logistics Harry." Lethbridge Stewart said nodding to Birmingham who left the pair to talk, grasping Harry's shoulder in a show of encouragement before leaving the office.

"It will take 2 weeks for the ship using its hyperspace window generator engines to get to the system. It took you approximately 10 days to get there the last time. When did you plan on sending it?"

Harry frowned for a moment.

"The scientists in the Gibson Desert said it'd be around a week until it was ready, plus the 10 day travel to get there…I need to swing round and double check that the installations on Shadow Blaze are completed with no hiccups.""

"The last report I received said they were ahead of schedule." Lethbridge Stewart commented.

Harry just nodded taking it all in.

"There has been a section cut and replaced near the transmat location, it is a space to store the liquid nitrogen canisters which have been made into a pack for you Harry if you wish to see it now?"

"Yeah…sure Brigadier…" Harry said a little dazed.

"You seem…quiet Harry…" Lethbridge Stewart asked as they walked through the corridors of Night Wolf.

Harry shrugged.

"Just with Birmingham going…" Harry smiled uncontrollably to himself. "It's all actually falling properly into place, actual things occurring…" He smiled to himself as they walked in and he saw the pack. It looked heavy, he frowned.

"That looks heavy."

"According to your physical dimensions you shouldn't have…much trouble wearing it."

"I notice the 'much trouble' in that sentence Brigadier." Harry said dryly as he moved over and pulled on the straps it was…heavy, very much so.

"I think I may go with option two…"

Lethbridge Stewart smiled. "The hole that has been cut will have enough room for this and any…weapons you may wish to use…"

"I have a few…weapons I've sourced outside of UNIT." Harry said vaguely. Lethbridge Stewart considered but decided not to ask where precisely Harry had obtained the weapons from, there were enough illicit weapons dealers around that Harry in his time before he encountered UNIT would have found them, obviously he had obtained his familiarity with weapons and explosives from somewhere before being trained by the people under his command.

Harry put the pack down with a sigh.

"Now that my heavy lifting quotient has been fulfilled for the day…I think a longer hose on it for when I actually use it…now I should head on down to the Gibson Desert…"

"Harry." Lethbridge Stewart called out before Harry turned to disappear, as he always did. "Make sure you inform us when you've sent your Harry, this is a big operation." Lethbridge Stewart let it go unsaid that there could be more than a few problems should Harry neglect to keep them in the loop.

He watched as an amused sweep of humour passed through his face.

"How could I forget, Brigadier." Harry inclined his head in a nod before turning and walking toward the door, Lethbridge Stewart watched as he disappeared into a black nothingness before he reached the door way. He was sure Harry did that in part for a dramatic effect.

Lethbridge Stewart walked back to his office and then stared at the papers awaiting his perusal.

Scowling he punched up the video connection to the Gibson Desert Construction and Research facility, and requested video access to the room that was being used for the Shadow Blaze.

He wasn't spying on the work, he had an update report for that, but Harry…considering the schedule they were working under was most likely going to get to the point quicker than a report.

Harry was there was a bunch of scientists, looking at his craft which had all manner of attachments attached to the underside and top side of it, obviously (according to a brief memo, rather than report on the subject).

"_What happens if I engage a hyperspace window within the atmosphere? Or is that one of those no-no's that shouldn't be done?" _Lethbridge Stewart found himself nodding to Harry's question, the latter rather than the former. Supposedly there was a huge pressure change…that would probably shatter anything vaguely breakable within a 20 kilometre radius due to the shockwaves involved…

"_We haven't done extensive tests…there is a lot of power when using a HWG, and inside the atmosphere while carrying a container holding the transmat energy…" _The scientist trailed off, looking more worried that Harry might try it. _"We wouldn't recommend it…"_

"_So last resource sort of thing?" _

"A never resort to sort of thing Mr Potter." Lethbridge Stewart said to himself, but he stared as the scientists nodded slowly with widening eyes.

"_So when will it all be finished and ready?" _Harry he appeared to be stretching his neck, Lethbridge Stewart flicked through the camera feeds.

"_If all tests go positive, by Friday…" _One of the scientists began to say.

"_Make sure it's finished by Friday…otherwise we'll all be up the spout…" _Harry seemed to mutter to them before turning and departing in a similar fashion as when he'd departed Night Wolf.

"_Find anything interesting Brigadier?" _A second screen popped up showing the commander of the Gibson Desert Research Facility gazing at him. "_Just because you're the General and head of Night Wolf doesn't mean you need to eavesdrop on my facility…that particular function is for emergencies, alien invasions, hostile take overs and whatever else, the standard UNIT fare."_

"Professor Preston, I requested and was granted access…just skipping the usual report and making certain all is going to plan."

"_Spying on your man?" _She asked amused.

"Bypassing a tedious report with a 5 minute video…observation." Lethbridge Stewart said. "What did you think of Mr Potter's performance?" He said changing the subject.

"_His time aboard the Hattah or his performance just now in dealing with my people?_"

"Aboard the Hattah Professor Preston. He seemed perfectly amiable with your people just now."

"_He showed initiative, a willingness to learn, creative thinking, faster than normal reaction time…and an ability to adapt to any given situation…you must send me more of these sorts of people Brigadier."_

Such praise was interesting to say the least.

"And your reactions?"

"_How?"_

"Did I know it was from the Captain of the Hattah? We both get a report."

She stared at him meeting his eyes.

"_He is eager, and willing Brigadier, I look forward to working with him further. I think he will…move around before he finds something he is happy with, currently he isn't sure what he wants…aside from this plan of his, but when that's done. I know for one that Harry Potter will not just sit back on a beach and watch the waves crash in relaxing."_

"Even after what he's lived through."

"_Because of what he's lived through Brigadier, he's like you and the others…he can't __not__ do anything."_

"He's that sort of person." Lethbridge Stewart agreed.

--//

_A shorter chapter than usual, as I got a little behind on working on this chapter._

_Next chapter will (hopefully) be much more detailed with more action and excitement._


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 38**

Jones looked out from the secluded command post, his and another two teams were completing some final preparations for 'the plan'.

The Brigadier wanted them to have the ability to completely isolate the Inferno site…should the need arise.

Spread out on a table behind him was a detailed map of the site as it was currently, with their own additions in place.

Sites had been chosen and prepared for claymores to immobilise any enemy targets.

Along the 'main corridor' which lead to where Harry intended to confront Voldemort they would place small pieces of various explosives including C4. Though they would hold off in battle in case they hit their…friendlies.

The Brigadier had rejected his albeit optimistic request for a pair of AA guns, however he had 'suggested' the use of a set of Starburst missiles, for use against the larger targets which had been recorded entering the country, unlike the previous Dover attempt these had not been intercepted by Night Wolf forces…according to the data available there were at least 15 targets, most likely giants or the smaller trolls.

They would also be used against all enemies in the air.

Jones looked across at the radio as another confirmation came in, he moved over to the checklist and map marking off another jammer which had been placed in a secure location, together with the others, which would only be activated after Harry succeeded in leaving the atmosphere with Voldemort.

The jammers would contain Voldemort's forces, although it was assumed that there would be various charms and spells placed on the ground by the enemy and the friendlies they would most likely not be able to diable all of those…however they would be able to stop or at the very least hinder their departure…

As for the problems it might cause the friendlies…in war they should see it to its end.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart didn't need to read the whole letter to know that the plan was a go, he'd contacted Jones to pull his preparation teams back to their observation positions immediately upon receiving the letter.

Then Lethbridge Stewart had taken the time to read Harry Potter's letter…

_Greyhound Leader, _

_Am sending my letter to Voldemort tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, Hedwig should have dropped this to you sometime today…before night…_

_I have given Voldemort coordinates a short distance off of the agreed transmat point, as previously discussed._

_The meeting as we previously agreed is this Saturday._

_Lord Voldemort_

_I must admit I took some deep pleasure in destroying Dumbledore for all the world to see, to see him being destroyed limb by limb by the Prophet, the ministry and Gringotts did provide some amusement. But I did wonder whether or not I should have done it personally, return to Dumbledore the pain and suffering he has caused me…just to see him suffer…_

_I did enjoy making your…followers? Suffer at the station, there is something intimately satisfying in seeing their life die in that moment that flashes in their eyes, that one tiny moment between the end of life and death…you can literally hear the final breath…or scream as the case may be._

_Perhaps you should torture something more interesting, I hear animals react in such strange ways to the Cruciatus…their little minds cannot cope and simply…explode, I am sure a certain Rat would make for an amusing test, sadly I could not practice this on neither Dumbledore nor anyone else…dear Bellatrix did say you have to hate to do it…I think I could have rivaled her, had I the chance to practice on a few many willing…or not volunteers._

_Rule…I would like to enforce some rules of my own…something Dumbledore seemed so willing to do to me…_

_I shall meet you…and see your army as you may mine…at a neutral location…_

Lethbridge Stewart punched in the coordinates into his computer, simply checking Harry's work.

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Lord Harry Black Potter_

Alistair frowned, Harry was rather good at writing to mad men.

--//

"All clear sector one…"

"_Clear on sector two…"_

"_Sector Three clear…"_

Jones listened to the radio check ins from the various points, currently he was observing the main site off the of a large mound which over looked much of the site, and gave him excellent line of site of the main arena where the battle should take place.

They were enjoying the radio contact for now as in the main battle radio signals would be 'nervous' to put it lightly, only the battery pack prepared for Harry's use to contact the RSCS Firefox through his own craft had enough punch to (most likely) punch through the interference they encountered.

"_Sector Four clear…"_

"_Sector Five…contact…repeat conta----"_ The rest of the radio message cut into static, Jones grabbed for his binoculars and infrared signal and flashed it the next team, which would pass on the simple message of alertness.

Jones easily found the two men who were walking into the site, they were dressed in long black cloaks, though the seemed to have forgone the white masks for this outing.

Jones looked down at them twisting the focus to see their mouths.

"The location….Lord…Seems…the…boy…is stupid…than he appears…" Jones muttered to himself as he watched them walk around.

The taller man removed a wand and a selection of muddy browns erupted out from it.

A few moments later they nodded and disappeared.

"_Sector Five to control, do we move in an asses site?"_

"Negative Sector Five, negative on move, we stay in monitor positions."

"_Confirmed control."_

Jones rolled over and crawled back to his dug out command post, in 3 days the main battle would begin and Harry's plan would be in full motion.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart picked up the phone after not even the second ring.

"Lethbridge Stewart."

"_Hi…Brigadier…It's Harry…_" Harry sounded a little nervous and worried.

"Harry…what is it?"

"_There's a slight problem here on out end."_ He said, Alistair could swear he could hear Harry smiling weakly. Problems were not what they needed at the moment, not with 1 day to the deadline.

"What sort of 'slight problem' Harry?"

"…" There was a moment of silence. "_Well because of the modifications…we can't go invisible and fly from here…"_

Ah…Alistair almost said.

"_Professor Preston said she can get me air clearance to international waters…but then…"_

Lethbridge Stewart stared at the map of the world.

"What about leaving the atmosphere Harry?"

There was a sound of voices in the background.

"_There is the power here…just…and everyone here doesn't recommend trying it too many times…better yet not do it at all…also we can't go through a transmat…given the…"_ There was another pause. _"Umm…transmat…techno…something…"_

Lethbridge Stewart almost smiled, but instead put the phone on speaker and started to pull up the shipping routes and radar that he had access to.

He continued to look through the data for a few minutes.

"_Um Brigadier…?"_

"Harry…you'll need to leave Australia via the Great Australian Bight…then travel at near ground level just above the sea, travelling along Antarctica until you reach the South Atlantic Ocean, follow that up to the North Atlantic and finally come to England via the Celtic Sea…exact coordinates to follow…Harry don't deviate from this and try to stay as close to the sea as you can. I don't to have to explain a _real _unknown craft flying at high velocity towards England."

"_Thanks Brigadier…what about when I get to England…?"_

"An escort will be ready for you…" Alistair said reaching for his other phone and dialling in the numbers.

"_Thanks Brigadier…" _There was a noise of Harry hanging up the phone, Lethbridge Stewart hit the speaker phone off button and leaned back waiting for his secure line through to the RAF.

"Suddenly Cyberman invasions and Dalek attack squads seem such a luxury…" Alistair muttered to himself as he gazed at the large screen on the wall which listed the various stages of 'The Plan' with an estimated occurrence time beside each event.

--//

Jones looked up from the plans for the Saturday night offensive, as even basic communication would be limited during the conflict planning and preparing for it and any outcomes was key. Other teams from Night Wolf would be leading strikes on other sites noted as 'possible' locations of Death Eater (or Death Eater sympathiser) strongholds.

Jones looked up again at the bird which had flown into the dug out that was serving as their base of operations, it was midnight black and was looking at him closely.

"Harry…is that you?" Jones asked staring at the bird. "If it isn't you…then that's also ok…it just means I'm talking to a bird…not the most mad thing I've done in recent times…" Jones said as he looked down at the plans noting something down.

Then there was a noise, like fluttering feathers through the wind and the bird glided down from its vantage point shifting from its status as a bird into a young man of 18.

"See not mad and trust me David Jones, I've met more than my share of mad men…Possessed teachers…Mr Super-Ego himself…giant snakes…apparitions from books, singing fish people…and the occasional bog standard 'I'm going to kill you' fanatic…" Harry Potter said as though he was listing items off on a list.

"You can soon add to that Megalomaniac and destroyed via a sun to that list Harry." Jones said with a smile.

"The Brigadier instructed me as I flew in to drop in before I start bringing people around to set up and get ready for tomorrow evening."

"Flew in?" Jones asked curiously, Harry made it sound like a task of proportions

"Long story, power limits…no invisibility…it's all worked out…"

"And your vessel?"

"The Shadow Blaze is here…outside the Inferno boundaries, invisible…according to her there'll be enough power to hover and be invisible tomorrow night for the transmat and all." Harry said sitting himself down on one of the cargo containers that held one of the Starburst shoulder launched missile launchers.

"The Brig said to check in with you…so what have you got? Last minute speeches..." Harry trailed off Jones stared at him.

"Right…and no…Here." Jones reached under the table and pulled out a bulky battery pack, a slightly smaller (though bulky compared to what they usually used) radio pack and mic and earpiece.

"Okay…it's a quite bulky battery pack."

"It is, it's for you to contact the RSCS Firefox to transmat Voldemort when he's in place. The radio is set at an ultra-high frequency, the battery pack has enough juice to…hopefully…punch through the magical interference…"

"Hopefully?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "You do know that…"

"Just the messenger."

Harry sighed.

"Fine…righty…"

"As I was saying…"

"Before you were rudely interrupted."

"Good, because _I _do outrank you _Pilot Officer _Potter." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, _Colonel._ 'Punch through interference…'"

"It will most likely be able to punch through the estimated level of magical interference…given our experience so far, enough to get through to your vessel which will relay it to the Firefox."

Harry nodded.

"Good, it's got a power switch on it, save turning it on till you actually get into the battle, don't try and turn it on when you're fighting…but you know."

"Use my intelligence."

"Yes. Any weapons I should be worried about tomorrow night?"

"Aside from what we already spoke on?" Jones nodded with a smile.

"Found a bazooka in my trunk…I totally forgot I had that, so along with the ATR I should be set."

Colonel David Jones smiled, it was weird that the guy before him could just 'forget' he'd been carrying around a bazooka.

Harry pushed himself up to stand in the low roofed camouflaged tent stuffing the radio and battery into his pockets.

"I've got to be off. I'm working through final prep with the Order and my friends and whatever this evening, we'll probably move out here set up in some of the further out buildings for final prep."

"You won't see my teams."

"I know, and I know where not to show the order where to shoot from…you've got those spots, I remember Jones, all those planning sessions…all down to this…" He sighed a tired smile.

"Sleep Harry, big day…"

"I'll have 10 days to sleep just getting to the end of the journey."

"Still, you don't want to nod off during Voldemort's opening tirade."

"Probably not good strategic sense…well as they say…Be seeing you…" Harry gave a small salute and disappeared with but a rustling of Jones's papers.

Over the next few hours Jones and his teams observed as various wand users flew in…or rather they didn't observe, the heard the whip and swish of air movement as those mounted on brooms flew over their position and took up shop in the amongst the old gas works and other areas far from the area where it had been agreed the main battle area.

--//

Jones pushed himself off where he had caught a few moments sleep at the insistence of half his team and the realisation that he'd been awake for 42 hours or so.

"Status?" He accepting the mug of coffee from Lt Parkin.

"The wand user, the Order stopped arriving at around 1100. It's bee all quiet now."

"Good, is everything in place for tonight?"

Parking nodded. "Everything is in place, I can activate all the jammers from here remotely…there's also a physical link in the southern corner jamming device that can domino engage all the others."

Jones nodded swallowing the coffee.

Jones unpacked his weapon the Barrett M82A1 semi-automatic sniper rifle from its casing.

Jones would be providing direct support for Harry during his 'negotiation' with Voldemort into the area of the force fields. The signal initially was a wave of the have that he and Harry had arranged to impress upon Voldemort Harry's…calibre in the forthcoming battle.

--//

Harry Potter stood in the middle of the battle area, waiting and watching the sun slowly sink towards the horizon, he wasn't alone…

Away from view were members of The Order, together with them were Harry's friends…out of sight of them, but watching the lone figure waiting and all the single main entrance and listing and waiting were the various members of UNIT Night Wolf, waiting for their targets to arrive, waiting for the army which they knew would arrive.

Waiting for a mad man to arrive and do battle with an 18 year old man.

--//

Jones looked at his watch and to the horizon as the sun sank down slowly down and away, turning the soft yellow to dark twilight.

Looking and watching Harry through the scope he seemed relaxed, yet filled with nervous energy.

Pressed as he was close to the ground he felt the approaching maelstrom, the heavy footed army approaching rather than just appearing in the air.

Giants leading trolls and other manner of beast silhouetted against the recently departed sun, walked up the main drive of the Inferno site.

Then there was a there was a sound like air rushing out of an open air lock, as though the make up of reality was rushing in and forcing itself out of the way.

Then there were several in rushes of air and people making themselves known by subtle pops in the air, they all appeared 10 or so meters from where Harry Potter stood waiting unfazed by their arrival.

At the forefront of the group a figure who wasn't covered by a mask, but had a deep green cloak over his body.

Voldemort had arrived.

_--//_

_Not quite the end._

_The battle will be in the next chapter (however next chapter won't be the final chapter), there are quite a few other things to happen even after Voldemort dealt with._

_Thanks for reading._


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 39**

Jones and probably many others of his team watched the slightly serpentine man walk towards Harry who was walked up halfway to meet them. As they walked he felt the tell tale 'feeling' of a wand user putting up quite powerful spells and wards, it was like a feeling slightly unlike static electricity…so light you almost didn't feel it.

Voldemort was flanked by three others.

Watching through his scope he watched them exchange quite civilised greetings…considering they were enemies.

Jones kept in his sights the three people flanking Voldemort, none of them had removed their hoods as yet.

The greeting, after a moment looked to be over and the three flankers uncovered themselves revealing; Severus Snape, Jones recognised him from Harry's descriptions, the second man had a distinctly vacant expression and a weaselly appearance, the third seemed twitchy with an crazed smile on his face, watching Harry it seemed that he did not recognise this man.

Jones watched as Harry gestured to the weaselly man, he watched carefully reading Harry's lips was easier than Voldemort, who was slurring his words or something to that effect.

'_I see you…my advice…"_

The weasily man stepped forward and removed his cloak, bringing the scope back to a wider view he looked at the three men and the weaselly one.

Jones raised an eyebrow, most of the man's head had exploded outwards, he could see as the man turned right into the brain cavity, there were still lumps of grey matter around the skull where what had probably been the brain exploded out.

Jones wondered for a moment if there was any use aiming for the vital organs in the man, after all if he did have a brain to keep the vital organs going…

Jones refocused his attentions on who Harry was looking at, the signal that they'd agreed on would 'help bolster his credentials' and help to scare the shit out of the death eaters.

Harry waved with his fingers at Severus Snape, it took Jones less than a second to get an aim.

"3, 2, 1…" Jones whispered to himself and pulled the trigger, the bullet shop out of the specially modified and silenced weapon and punched a neat hole in Severus Snape's head. He collapsed to the ground with a slight convulsion.

That appeared to shake things up a little as all the collected masked death eaters began moving around drawing their wands and generally pointing them in Harry's direction.

'_Your…eaters are a little jumpy…Voldemot…'_

Harry turned to look at the second man who wasn't staring vacantly at the ground.

'_Are you…I swear we've met before…" _Jones watched as Harry got an answer, Harry nodded in grim understanding _'The last in your family…'_ Then he waved in a similar fashion as he had done Snape.

Jones was easily able to target this man's heart and a moment later a bullet tore through the tissues surrounding it and punctured the vital organ. The man seemed to try and do something with his wand before convulsing and ended up on the ground next to Severus Snape.

Voldemort stared at Harry, Harry meanwhile just seemed to stare at his hand with a menacing smile as he moved slowly backwards, obviously to give himself some room to manoeuvre.

Then, obviously trying to stop Harry Voldemort drew his wand…then everything happened quite quickly, the green, killing curse leapt from his wand toward Harry, who appeared to be already moving and withdrawing two Uzis from within his jacket.

It looked as though he put at least two clips into the weasl man, whose body seemed to turn to shreds upon the onslaught.

The killing curse passed by Harry as he came fell into a fighting pose a moment later.

"How passé, the killing curse, and I thought we were going to be 'allies'." Jones heard Harry say in a loud voice.

Then Voldemort shouted "Attack." He also looked a bit constipated.

It was probably the magic field Jones had felt go up.

It was at that point that the Order and who ever they had supporting them came out of behind and to the sides of the mass of Death Eaters, firing spells everywhere.

It also made Jones' job that bit much harder, most of the Death Eaters had masks on…which give him and the others targets.

He could hear a short distance away missiles ripping from their housings towards the trolls and giants who were creating a rear flank preventing both the death eaters and the order from escaping and getting right around behind them.

Further along what had become a battlefield Lieutenant Gibbs weaved around behind the giants and trolls, setting and checking the claymores that he and his partner Sergeant Roginski were setting as the battle raged, thankfully (and quite stupid on the enemy's part) they weren't looking behind them.

They wouldn't see what was behind them when they moved either.

--//

Up high on top of one of the tall stacks of pallets Captain Defris raised the Starburst missile and took aim at the huge giant that was baring down on a group who according to the briefings were friendlies.

Defris braced herself and let loose the missile, immediately crouching back down below the firing line of most of the wand users she 'observed' or rather watched with satisfaction as the missile flew the relatively short distance towards its target, the extra velocity made it actually punch straight through the first giant before exploding sending…pieces of a second slamming into the hillside and the surrounding pallets.

Defris was about to roll over and grab another when she saw before she heard the flash of light, and rolled instinctively away.

The green killing curse harmlessly hit the pallets, as she grabbed for her weapon firing shots towards where in her peripheral vision the shot probably had come from…

The death eater disillusioned on the flying carpet chuckled to himself as the muggle woman helplessly tried to escape…then three pieces of hot copper exploded through his retina, eardrum and kidney, causing him to loose control of the carpet and plummet on top of a vampire feeding on one of Voldemort's wounded loyalists.

--/

Higher above, so far up that up really didn't have the meaning it did on Earth the RSCS Firefox completed its final manoeuvres bringing it into a low Earth orbit out of sight of any satellites and telescopes that might happen to glance towards the large space craft.

"Is the transmat ready and aligned?" Captain Ian Timms asked of the man in charge of pushing the buttons and grabbing Voldemort from the ground.

"No." Came the short slightly worried answer.

"No…" Captain Timms said slightly unbelievingly.

"Captain…" Nikita trailed off. "This is the feed of a close range sensors…" Lt Nikita Robertson said as an image flicked onto one of the screens before them, it was a close in image of the target area, an area not even 5 kilometres square.

It looked like there was a hurricane, typhoon and an electrical storm of terawatt proportions.

"That isn't good." The captain said mainly to himself before recovering. "What do the sensor analysis team say?"

"They're just analysing the data, initial scans are it's a localised phenomena...the readings have a 70 percent relation rate of high to extreme levels of wand user magical use…and it's not just at the ground…" Lt Robertson said as he read and listened as the information poured in from the various portions of the ship.

"They're doing it…could they know?"

"Battle strategy doesn't think so…they think it's a stratagem to disorientate who ever they're fighting down there and keep anyone else away…"

"Can we lock on and get a transmat through that?" The captain hit the internal comms button through to the matter transmission area.

"Uh…." Was the only reply, which managed to sound busy and unsure.

"How long to the estimated readiness time?"

"5 minutes sir." The time had been an beginning of readiness that Sorcerer Potter had agreed upon with Night Wolf, it was an estimate based on various factors, but also gave them a time to organise around.

The captain frowned.

"Sir…" It was the voice of the man in charge of the Trasmat systems. "I can probably get a lock on…but we're going to need to get a bit closer than we are to get a definite lock and transmission."

"We need to get below the interference level…but above the relay vessel…"

The captain thought on this quickly, aware of the time quickly ticking away until he _needed_ to be in position.

"Get on to Night Wolf, tell them to clear all air traffic…and hope that there aren't any star gazers out tonight." He said in a calm voice to the communications officer.

"Power up antigravs, channel extra power to the transmat adaptions and prepare to hold within the atmosphere."

So the 320 meter long ship; the Firefox dropped out of its low Earth orbit into the gravity field of the planet below aiming for a small site where a battle was reaching its climax for two of its (some might say) most powerful combatants…

--//

Harry Potter, known to the wand users as 'the boy who lived' as though such a title were thought to bring joy to a man who had simply wanted to live his life.

Though these were the same people who called their most feared enemy 'he who must not be named', these were the same people who turned a looked to a young man to fight their battles and solve all their problems.

These were the people who would play games with their citizens…as though they were pieces on a board.

Harry Potter, Sorcerer, Pilot Officer with the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce – Night Wolf, fought with determination against a man, who wasn't who hadn't been for a long time.

Harry Potter; man, fighter, warrior, thinker…wounded, battle scarred…blood pouring from gashes inflicted via spells from a man…from a thing more than double his age….

Harry Potter backed away pretending to fall back, maybe he was falling back, strategy, battle analists would say included a planned retreat…and Harry Potter wasn't retreating, he was luring the spider into a trap…

Except this spider was a snake, spitting spells like venom, and this snake had just walked into a trap, sprung by a Raven.

"PROTEGO!" Harry Potter shouted his wand shaking in his hand…or it could have been his hand that was shaking and his wand was just gripped through determination…and pain.

Flares of energy spun up around the ground, energy stored in a wood not of this Earth but created of this civilisation.

Harry Potter, a thinker, a strategist, this was part of his plan 'the plan' grabbed at the hose hidden under a tarpaulin against the battle that raged and flung the handle of the large canister.

Liquid Nitrogen; LN2 , Nitrogen; one of the most common elements, atomic number 7, present in 78.1 percent of Earth's atmosphere…

However in a liquid form it was so much more useful than a simple inert gas.

The liquid nitrogen tore out of the hose, punctuating the silence save the sound of gun shots that punctuated the battle area, the stillness from the shock that Harry Potter, 'boy who lived' had 'he who must not be named' trapped…seemingly by 'magic'.

As Harry Potter sprayed the last of the gas all over his foe he reached with his spare hand and hit the 'ON' button on a device which most of the people on the ground fighting wouldn't have the knowledge how to use, and those who knew its function would testify that it wasn't possible for it to function.

Above them, only slightly above the clouds which were a maelstrom of still pulsing energy a large (in terms of anything the wand users could create) hung above the sky.

"Are we ready Lt?" The captain asked as the ship hung above the Inferno site, most likely visible, though surrounded at a distance by all manner of RAF aircraft keeping prying eyes and air craft away from the giant of the skies.

"Sir…yes…signal coming through."

It was a single word.

"ACTIVATE." It was shouted above the cacophony of spells which had resumed with vigour when it had become apparent that the 'boy who lived' wasn't going to do something as simple as a spell, nothing simple that they could all watch with awe and fear…or hopeful joy as their lord and master beat the 'boy who lived' so darkness could reign upon their lands.

"What the hell's going on?" The captain shouted as 'power warning's erupted from various points on the ship.

"Power draw is going past safeties, Voldemort must have a person protection on him that's inhibiting the transmat…I'm drawing in more power…it's now or never…"

There was a whine from somewhere in the ship as more power was diverted and channel to the recently installed (for this very purpose…just in case) focusing array.

On the Earth's surface Voldemort; the 'Dark Lord', 'he who must not be named', a man who had been reborn, a thing which had reined for all too long, an evil which continued to rant even through he…it could not move, nor speak…dematerialised from the Earth and travelled an extremely short distance into what was known where it had been constructed as a 'Transmat cage' built for one purpose, for a man; Harry Potter, Sorcerer Pilot officer in the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce – Night Wolf to fly the cage in a craft to a sun…and destroy the thing, the man, the evil that had plagued his life once and for all.

Harry Potter sighed with relief as Voldemort disappeared after an extended time 'in transmat'.

"_Transmat complete Last Raven. Subject is contained within Cage._" Came the very crackled response.

He was just about to turn and disappear when two bodies collapsed behind him, they had been shot with a long range assault rifle.

"Thank you Jones." He muttered to himself grabbing the gash on his torso and disappeared like wind of a moor.

"Transmat complete."

"Get us back into our original orbit and keep a sensor lock on the _Shadow Blaze._"

"Sir."

The RSCS Firefox moved swiftly and quickly up out of the Earth's atmosphere and away from it's pull of gravity and the vision of potential witnesses to it's grandeur and presence.

"We have sensor lock."

"Put it up, I want a transmat lock and full sensor analysis on the vessel…just in case…"

An image of a midnight black craft appeared on the main left hand screen whilst the right switched to display data of altitude, relative power output, speed and other such data.

"He's not moving very fast…"

"No sir…almost negative altitude gain…" Lt Robertson trailed off, then something lit up on the scanners.

"Energy spike! Confirming Hyper space window generator…he's opening a hyperspace window."

"Within the atmosphere…" The captain swore.

"Energy displacement is eratic…it's only just covering he craft…if it doesn't…there was a flash and the ship disappeared, the hyperspace window hung in the atmosphere for less than a second before shutting.

For those on the _Firefox _it was a mammoth amount of energy flung about in a method that all the manuals, suggestions and basic training said you shouldn't do.

On the ground the battle paused in wonder, allowing the UNIT teams to pick off some death eaters who too similar to those of the Order watched in awe of the energy…

The following close of said energy was enough to burst the ear drums of those remaining flying on carpets near the window of energy, it also shattered any glass in a 10 km radius.

Two death eaters' screams punctuated the silence as so called 'unbreakable' potion vials containing a mix of flesh deteriorating and blood boiling potions (brewed by the recently late Severus Snape) broke covering their upper torsos with a concoction, had anyone been a devotee of Shakespeare they might have commented that they were 'hoist by their own petard'.

The sounds of their screams and the recommence of battle was broken once more as two additional Starburst missile shot forward towards two remaining trolls…

Then the whole area hummed for a moment as jamming devices, built within an old building, by a young woman under the command of a great man hummed with power and worked even more than they had hoped for.

As some of the remaining death eaters tried to go to sneak around the edges to fire spells in some effort to escape they wondered into jammed zones of magic where their precious wands became but lengths of wood and when they tried to run back towards their 'safety' of battle against the remaining order they were shot down by members of the same organization which had turned their wands into wood and their skills into but words.

Then the panic started and those death eaters which had been torturing various others within the battle turned and ran, lighting the sky around as the claymores tripped making their bodies join the lumpy mess of troll flesh and corpses that littered the battle area.

Jones grabbed at his S/K-1 weapon and tried for his radio, hoping that the he was inside the jamming field enough for the radio to work and contact everyone from his teams.

"All teams move in, move in, take down any hostiles, stun the remainders, I want this area safe and settled."

Jones flung himself over the mound where he had been firing from towards the mass of bodies both living, dead and controlled.

He made eye contact with several of his team they all had their weapons out, the S/K-1 for stunning and a standard sidearm…for any of the more troublesome that hadn't been blown up attempting to escape.

Jones was very aware that the jamming field didn't extend to where they were walking, but if he allowed the group before him to leave he wasn't just letting the friendlies leave, he was allowing some (who hadn't been eliminated) escape as well, and that was an unacceptable outcome, they hadn't come this far to let some of those _filth_ get away.

Jones stepped forward slowly, he didn't say anything, but watched, they all stood with wands out, not saying, just staring at his and his team members approach, they wouldn't begin to separate them until they were in optimum firing range or…

Out of the corner of his eye he saw three men in white masks run around a pallet.

"Avada Ked…" Jones and another opened fire with their side arms less than a second late they fell to the ground.

Jones turned back to the crowd preparing to speak loudly and firmly to the crowd.

"You are on restricted property, put down your _wands _and you will be removed safely." Jones paused looking briefly up to a pallet where he could see a tiny glint of Defris' sniper sight. "Resist and we will use deadly force."

The prompted a quick response from what were most likely death eaters hiding in the scrum of the mix of order and death eaters which had been hearded together from the claymore explosion and the edges of the jamming field.

"You stupid muggle you think just because the Dark Lord isn't here you're safe…Cruci…"

Jones opened fire with his side arm whilst two others fired with their S/K-1's set to Kill, dropping four of the death eaters to the ground.

There was a gasp somewhere at the rear of the group.

"Drop your wands…Now!" Jones barked at the crowd. There was an exchange of looks followed by a dull sound of wood dropping to the ground.

Over the next hour or everyone present had been their hands bound behind their backs with plastic ties (and therefore un-removable without a pair of scissors…or the ability to appartate, and the jammer sitting nearby put a stop to those that wanted to try) then a UNIT containment team had arrived.

Each person was checked against a list of faces and information provided by Harry for this very purpose, they'd also been monitored for for an hour away from any liquids to ascertain there were no impersonations amongst them…there had and those had been removed quickly from the site, kicking, swearing shouting and muttering various insults upon their fellows.

--//

Jones flicked on the video feed into what used to be one of the old machinery huts.

"All the information's checked out?"

"Double checked sir."

"Good." Jones rose from where he had been correlating the movement of the prisoners they'd collected with the UNIT containment team. The team would move them to a secure facility for questioning, then they'd most likely be sent to prison…an ultra-high security prison in a deep underground ex-cold war bunker in Russia where UNIT kept its other 'other' criminals.

Jones gathered enough of his team before making sure all their weapons were set to stun, it wouldn't do to shoot to kill any of the friendlies…but equally the Brigadier had ordered that when they were transported they shouldn't be able to 'follow them home', and should they return to the site they'd find nothing of the previous night's battle, the clean up crew had begun as soon as they'd secured all of the prisoners.

Jones stepped in weapon drawn.

"So now you've questioned us all what're goin' to do with us?" Asked Mad Eye Alastor Moody, his eye swivelling around as though by it's own accord.

Jones just turned and nodded and then they all opened fire, the entire group was slumped a moment later.

They all moved around double checking for any 'complications'.

"No problems sir."

"Good lets get the to the transport…" Jones looked back at Moody for a moment. "Make sure he has his eyes are closed and then blind fold him."

Outside the sun was rising its way up past the horizon…millions of kilometres away a small craft sped toward its own sun and its own horizon.

_--//_

_There it is, the battle between them everyone. However, it's not the end, but we're getting there, there are still quite a few loose ends that need to be tied up._

_Thanks for reading._


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 40**

Birmingham leaned back in his chair and looked back up at the dull grey which constituted the ceiling.

They had been on route for approaching a week…which still left a week to go to their destination.

Birmingham looked back to the pile of work on his desk, on Earth he could have had other things to do to keep him distracted and this work would get done…in between other things.

Here he didn't have anything else to do, thus he'd been avoiding it, walking around the ship, sitting, looking into the secondary oxygen generation systems, going over the final power and timing calculations for the port key with the other Sorcerers that he'd recruited to accompany him on this voyage.

Birmingham looked over the proposals, suggestions and thoughts that he'd collected from the various departments before he'd left, and even the summaries from UNIT in Geneva.

It was part of his role as Second in Command at Night Wolf to consider this…not just their activities on Earth but those in the greater and wider space.

One thing was clear; they were going to run out of personnel in the near future.

There was too much culture shock involved in training and moving a 'professional' or even mildly published scientist, doctor or professional and taking them away from their lives or off to another planet / moon or other to study.

Short of going public they were going to need to do something drastic.

Birmingham considered that thought, the idea of going public with what they knew had been floated many times from right back in the 1960s with the Intrusion Countermeasures Group in preparing the military for 'extraneous intervention of foreign forces'.

Not that it was seriously considered, even during the 'alien invasion season' of the 1970s where Earth seemed to have been targeted the idea of informing the public was never seriously considered.

Now it was a case of security, they couldn't announce to the world that the United Kingdom, Australia and some parts of the United Nations knew not only that aliens had visited Earth more than once, but that they had space ships which made the American's space efforts look like a go kart down the end of the street.

That was the Brigadier's summary of the case that UNIT had brought forward in any case.

Birmingham tapped his pen on his note pad before reaching over and plugging in his hand held computer so he could access his Night Wolf database of information he'd brought with him for the journey.

The Brigadier wanted ideas…for everyone, not an easy task.

--//

Jones looked out around the Inferno site, they'd been monitoring the site since they'd removed the Order members.

A few hours ago the UNIT clean up crew had completed their work, all the bodies had been bagged, tagged and moved out to Night Wolf for classification. The other bodies and other flesh that had been ripped away from the various engagements throughout the night had also been bagged separately and would be fully analysed.

All the shell casings, fragmented missile remains and wands that had been left by the dead had equally been removed from the site.

They'd finished the job with a was with a solved concocted by the Sorcery department cleaning away any trace of the a battle, the blood, gore and explosive residue all removed.

It now looked like any other military training ground; there were the various signs of explosive damage, some bullet holes and an odd smell of burnt charcoal. Which Jones reflected was probably the result of the clean up crew's efforts to remove most of the wand user's influence, although they had informed him and General Lethbridge Stewart that there would be a degree of background which would remain present for a time.

Jones adjusted his vest as he looked around with the binoculars once more, only his team remained, he'd convinced the Brigadier to allow him personally to monitor the site.

His argument was slightly a personal one, he was curious of the wand user's recon methods, especially following what would be considered a defeat on their part the first thing he would do is do some _covert _reconnaissance.

That said Jones wasn't making it easy, all the jammers were turned up to full and supplemented via the mains power, so there was no chance of any of the wand users _apparating _in on them, but as Harry had demonstrated in moving them all to the site they didn't necessarily need to appear as they did.

"_Activity at front entrance." _

Jones swung the binoculars around to look at the front entrance; a black London taxi pulled into the driveway of the site and stopped.

Two men removed themselves from the back of the taxi Jones instantly recognised one of them as Alastor Moody, the second Jones recognised from earlier the previous year…Kingsley Shaklebolt.

The driver was the last to remove herself from the taxi, she had short brown hair, and was another person Jones recognised, Hermione Granger.

"Go to stealth, maintain a visual with them. Jones out." Jones muttered into the radio boom near his mouth as he reached onto his vest and crushed the two pads, there was the what was now almost familiar smell and he and his team shimmered away from sight both from the regular eye sight and from a certain magical eye.

Jones swapped his radio frequency for a moment to the monitor by the gate and watched through his binoculars.

"…_Grange you're staying here…"_

"_Moody if it hadn't been for me you would have probably been smeared across half of England waiting for the ministry to de-splinch you…again." _Hermione Grange berated to man who stared at the younger woman.

"_I could have found a…_"  
"_I want to know what happened to Harry as much as anyone."_

"_Harry Potter can look after himself Granger I want to know about those __muggles."_

"_As does the Ministry…that's why I'm here…Officially, remember Moody…Officially."_

"_Then why bring Granger?"_

"_Yes, talk about me as though I'm not here…" _Jones watched Hermione Grange walk up to the fence and look through to the site.

"_There doesn't look like there's much damage…" _She said curiously.

"_Alohamora…!" _Moody growled at the lock, Jones smiled to himself as the locked gate _didn't _open.

"_That's very…interesting…we must be in some sort of natural…or unnatural…"_ The black man was cut off by Moody.

"_We're not Kingsley, we were perfectly able to use our wands here before the __muggles__…" _Moody trailed off for a moment.

"_The muggles Moody? Everyone in the Order that was here has been cagey about what happened." _Jones heard Hermione snort at the comment.

"_Ms Granger?" _Kingsley asked regarding Granger curiously, not Jones noted with the annoyed almost contempt that Moody did.

"_Moody's just annoyed that he was bested by someone." _Granger said walked away from the gate with he wand in her hand. Jones watched one tracking her, he couldn't hear her as well as she walked further away from where he'd placed the radio monitors. But it sounded like 'Lumos', he watched her as she took careful and deliberately paced strides away from the gate until she was by the adjoining (private) road and her wand lit up. Jones noted that she was standing outside of the jammers.

Granger turned and walked back towards the two men, who were still bickering.

"…_why didn't the minister come himself if he was so…"_

"_Moody there are other interests for the Ministry, not just your paranoid fantasies about the muggles…"_

"_You've gone soft Kingsley…beating the Ministry's drum…"_

Jones raised an eyebrow and watched Granger who had paused listening to the two older men argue and shook her head and walked over to the the taxi opening the boot and rummaging around in the back before remove the jack with a satisfied smile.

Walking with confidence back to the road side she placed the jack down on the ground.

A wave of concentration passed across her face as she concentrated on jack with her wand, Jones watched as she appeared to be muttered something before tensing and a jet of magic shot out of her wand and the car jack shimmered and changed _transfigured _into what looked like a set of bolt cutters.

"Well, well, well…" Jones muttered to himself, this was the most interesting thing that had happened thus far with regard the three people before him.

Jones watched as Hermione Grange walked back towards the gate, following the exact same path she used out and walked straight through the two arguing men and brought the cutters to bare.

"_There…now are you two going to continue arguing or are we going in…honestly it's like being at school…"_ Granger said aloud as she chucked the bolt cutters to one side and walked in and then stopped as though thinking or regarding the area.

"_Well Ms Granger…come on…" _Alastor Moody harrumphed as he hobbled past.

Jones watched as Granger stood looking around the main drive up as Kingsley and Moody continued up, each occasionally withdrew their wand and scowled at it.

Granger was looking at the ground kicking it before moving to the edge of the drive way and began following the two men, though walking in the drain on the side of the road.

"_This doesn't appear to be the correct location Moody…there aren't any signs of this 'battle' that I've heard reports of." _Kingsley said as he glanced around.

"_Tricky Kingsley…very tricky…Granger what do you think?"_

"_It is…interesting, who ever they were did a good job of it. Remember how much…" _Granger paused pulling a face.  
"_Entrails Ms Granger…blood…signs of a battle…troll blood isn't the easiest to get rid of…" _Moody started.

"_I've got robes not even house elves can get the blood out of."_ Kingsley said looking around his…quite useless wand Jones thought to himself still out and at the ready.

"_We should split up and work our way around the site, there might be something we can use to track Potter or anyone else that was here." _Kingsley suggested. Jones raised an eyebrow and wondered which where he learnt 'classic mistakes to make in potentially hostile situation' training.

"Let's split up…" Jones muttered to himself shaking his head.

Jones followed Hermione Granger curious at what she would do, alone and away from the others.

She walked along dragging her feet for a moment before looking around.

"I'm pretty sure you're watching us…and even if you're not you're monitoring…I knew Harry had help…but this is…" She paused looking around. "What ever Harry's done…it's obviously not finished…otherwise he'd be here instead of me playing driver and 'Ms Muggle knowledge'." She said with some annoyance. "Just let him know….he owes me that explanation he promised…in fact probably more than one…" She looked around once more and shook her head to herself before walking back to the central point from which they first split off from, then she stopped turning again back towards where Harry had trapped Voldemort the previous night.

"…Just…make sure…make sure he comes back…" She said softly, he voice being lost slightly in the wind that rustled through the Inferno site.

"_Targets moving the holding area."_

"Confirmed, continuing close in observation maintain observation."

Jones moved down the steep slope towards the three people walking towards where he and the others had sorted through the Order from the Death Eaters. It was in that room that Jones had left (with the Brigadier's approval) a…not so much a trap as a test; Night Wolf had throughout the past few years encountered various groups of wand users and they hadn't been completely sure if the Order or some of the Death Eaters would return to do some recon, Jones therefore had left a 'surprise' in the room for them.

"_It's a room Moody, and this is where you said the muggles…captured you?"_

"_That's what I said Kingsley, now shut up about it…Granger what do you think?"_

Jones watched through from a distance at the group within the room, the test was a simple though effective one, Shrodger's cat.

"_What's this?" _Jones raised an eyebrow as he heard the box's lid being opened.

"_Moody…Ms Granger…I think you'd better come over here…" _

"_What is it Kingsley I think my wand is working…"_

Jones nodded to himself the jammers did work within the building but in certain areas they were deliberately low power, it was all about intelligence gathering on the wand users during times of extreme stress, even if the current threat was eliminated they still would need information to base their manoeuvres on both the military and psychological.

"_Oh shit." _

"_Language Granger, it's just some lights with some clay…" _Moody's voice rang out.

"_What is it Ms Granger?"_

"_C4…"_

"_What in Merlin's name is 4C Granger?"_

"_C4…It's a m…a plastic explosive muggles use in…demolition." _Hermione Granger stated carefully, Jones noted as she started to say 'military', Harry was right about her being a smart person.

"_Defuse it…Granger if our wands work in here I can trace the muggles that stopped Voldemort…"_

"_The ministry also wants to know how Voldemort was eliminated Moody, not just __you."_

"_Defuse it…yeah…no Moody…I worked with Harry on one of his projects…I know how much…power this…and I'm going to run…" _

Jones watched as Hermione Granger pelted out of the room running back to where she had come from and ran back towards the front entrance, taking care to again run along the gutter.

Jones moved back to his vantage point, climbing carefully back up so he could watch from a distance, there was an explosive, enough to blow out the already shattered windows with some flame, however there wasn't a great deal of C4, Alastor Moody had been correct in that regard most of it was clay.

Jones adjusted his binoculars towards Hermione Granger who was looking at her watch and glancing back towards the drive way, a minute later Kingsley approached at a swift walk with a hobbling Moody in tow.

Jones pulled out his own time and looked at it.

**00:00:59:42, **and counting.

"_You seem agitated Ms Granger." _

"_Stating the obvious Kingsley."_

"_You've picked up Potter's habbits Granger."_

"_What's that Moody."_

"_Mr Potter's spry wit."_

"_You can go Ms Granger…Moody and I can return when we're ready…"_

"_What about the Taxi driver?"_

"_I oblivated him of this day, he'll be in that…bar for the rest of the day." _Moody said offhandedly, Jones made a note of it and the number plate of the taxi, they'd get UNIT in London to check the man out to make sure of no permanent psychological damage.

"_Fine…40 seconds."_

Jones watched as Hermione Granger slid herself into the driver's seat and started the engine and drove off in a rush.

"_40 seconds what was she talking about?"_

"_I think Ms Granger was speaking of the timer…Moody are you alright?"_

"_Just the movement Kingsley…I don't like this…muggles getting the upper hand."_

"_Think they're dark wizards too? Maybe…"_

"_Maybe what…?"_

"_Nothing."_

Jones watched as the building exploded and the two men leap back.

"_Now can we go back in and investigate properly without Granger dogging us…"_

"_Moody…I am returning to the Ministry…as you should to the Order…this was meant to be a proper investigation…not one of your paranoid trips."_

"_It's safe Kingsley, you're afraid of this…we can portkey out if there's any extreme danger…"_

"Standby to activate secondary explosives on my mark."

"_Confirmed."_

"_Confirmed."_

"_Sir."_

"_Sir."_

Jones observed as Moody hobbled back in.

"Activate in sequence."

A second series of explosions went off, there were mainly for show, but illustrated to the two men that there was _visible _and _tangible _evidence of a danger.

--//

The Prime Minister looked another piece of paper work from the UN this afternoon, when the intercom announced itself with a beep.

He hadn't been expecting anyone, which was the reason why he was in his office reading, with the General carrying forth on his promise 3 days ago the _Voldemort _problem had been dealt with…there were stll small pockets being cleared away, which part of the reason he was here, signing requests for prisoners to be tried and imprisoned offshore by the UN, technically speaking they weren't British citizens…however he knew General Lethbridge Stewart would see that they were tried…rather than executed, the Prime Minister wondered after reading some of the reports that had passed his desk whether he would be as restrained as to see them have a trial after the citizens under his government had been killed…raped and tortured and whatever else these wand wizards did.

"Yes Leanne?"

"I have a Minister here…he says he is _expected."_

Expected meant anything but.

"Who is he?"

"He says he's a _Foreign Minister…_Scrimgeour"

The Prime Minister nodded, he had wondered if Scrimgeour would decide to pay him a visit…

"Show him in…then call the UNIT special line, tell General Lethbridge Stewart who I'm seeing, follow that by a silent evacuation."

"Yes…Prime Minister…should I move the September Orange to the 19th?"

The Prime Minister raised an eyebrow at this out of no where comment and then thought…**SO19**.

"Have SO19 keep the anyone back…UNIT knows what they're handling with. Tell UNIT to wait on my panic signal before they come in."

"Prime Minister."

A moment later Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour walked into the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's Downing Street office.

"_Minister _Scrimgeour what an unexpected visit only the most rude and the most prominent dignitaries burst in unannounced."

"And which am I Prime Minister?"

"Tea?"

"No thank you."

"Very well. I'll just pour myself one then." The Prime Minister rose to the table, his movements watched by the two men in mismatched suits who made no effort to conceal the fact that their wands were trained on the political leader of the United Kingdom as he made himself a cup of tea.

5 minutes had passed before he retook his seat at his desk opposite the Minister, 2 minutes later 2 UNIT jeeps arrived and filed into the building led by Brigadier Winfred Bambera who began securing the building and checking the…jamming devices within Downing Street.

Outside the SOG was moving out securing the wider area and checking for the usual problems.

"I was informed that the portrait that has been used for the past 50 years was some how removed Prime Minister."

"These are trying times Minister Scrimgeour, security you must understand is paramount with the many kinds of security threats out there, not just Voldemort…but who ever else could have infiltrated your security."

"The fireplace was secure, only accessible from my private offices…it would have taken a trained floo technician, one from _my _Ministry to de-authorize…how did you do it Minister, a Muggle such as yourself?"

"Muggle? Minister…I thought this was a new age within the Ministry for Magic…beyond such crude terms as Muggle."

"How did you disable the floo…it is…important…Prime Minister that we are able to access you at all times…in case of a threat on you."

"You and your ministry obviously performed an excellent duty at protecting myself and the British citizens when there were vast fires ripping through London…or when British citizens were being raped and murdered in their homes."

The Prime Minister stared as Rufus Scrimgeour simply raised an eyebrow "Touché. That however wasn't what I came about…I have reports that Voldemort has been…eliminated…and…"

"Good riddance." The Prime Minister stated.

Scrimgeour, however continued. "That some muggles assisted in destroying him in…" Scrimgeour turned back to one of his…security who removed a scroll of paper and an envelope of photos.

The scroll showed a map, which really could have been anywhere, all it showed was a drawing of a road and a site which wasn't even fully sketched out, it reminded him of an old ocean map where the edges of countries hadn't been fully explored and where just left at guesses.

The photos were more reveling, they showed a site that he remembered from his early times in Politics, the Stahlman Inferno Project, now a UNIT military training site, sold to them by the MOD some years back. The photo showed a gate with several out of date radiation signs and even a Biohazard sign, along with a non-descript vehicle which definitely wasn't military…but looked as if it could be…something to discuss with General Lethbridge Stewart…but it looked as though it was a ruse for the photographer.

"It's a site that was used by a scientist some years ago Scrimgeour, nothing more, it's un-usable land."

"We know it's more than that…two…Ministry professionals surveyed the site."

"And? Minister Scrimgeour _if _Voldemort has been rid of, why are you here speaking to me?"

"I want to know how some simple muggle could rid us of Voldemort…I want know now!"

The Prime Minister raised and eyebrow and took a sip of his tea.

"Minister Scrimgeour, if we did indeed 'rid you of Voldemort' then you should be thanking us…or you shouldn't be here at all and be treating this in the way many politicians would."

"I will know Prime Minister, I want to know how and where Voldemort is…you and which ever wizard you're working with can't possibly hold him. I am sorry it's come to this Prime Minister…" Scrimgeour said not meaning a word of it.

The Prime Minister watched impassively as Minister Scrimgeour stood up drawing a wand and hoped that UNIT did their work and the jammers were working.

"Legilimens…" Scrimgeour said quietly….and nothing happened.

"Latin, my education minister tells me that everyone should be learning it. V_estri vicis est sursum _Minister I'm afraid." The Prime Minister pushed the panic button and not a moment later UNIT troops stormed through the doors to his officer quickly disarming the three men before him and silently took him away.

"Prime Minister, Brigadier Winifred Bambera." She saluted.

"Thank you for your timely arrival Brigadier."

"Sir…General Lethbridge Stewart request I ask you on what we should do with your…guests…"

"You've been briefed…?"

"Sir?"

The Prime Minister nodded. "Need to know Brigadier…need to know…" The Prime Minister thought for a moment he couldn't quite hand them over to UNIT…not unless he wanted to cause a major diplomatic situation, even if he was the only one in the Government who 'officially' knew about them.

"Keep them under heavy guard…and remove their wan…their weapons…I need to have a conversation with the man with the beard."

"Prime Minister are you sure that's…wise?"

"Politics never is Brigadier."

--//

Harry Pearce stood watching the footage that had been forwarded to his department by internal security at Thames House.

It had been the second time he'd watched the compilation tracking the three…intruder's movements.

He had realised immediately why it had been forwarded to him, he had the most contact with UNIT for 'terrorism' discussions, more contact than others.

Then there was Tom and Zoe's contact with UNIT during the Buckingham hostage situation.

Harry hit a button on the phone.

"Tom get Zoe and come in here."

A moment later they both walked in, Harry walked over to the blinds closing them completely.

"This footage was forwarded to me earlier today because it seemed to fall under UNIT's description and our involvement."

"What is it Harry?" Zoe asked crossing her arms slightly.

"Watch." Harry aimed a remote at the large screen, the image showed the exterior of Thames House, three people; two men and a woman who appeared to be wearing cloaks similar to a judge walked towards Thames House, pausing outside, they each withdrew a long thing device which from the grainy CCTV appeared to be a stick.

They pointed at themselves and seemed to shimmer and change just as the image flared for a moment.

The image flicked to one inside of Thames House at the main reception.

Four more smaller images appeared alongside the main image displaying varying camera angles from the array of cameras within the main reception.

"are we going to do this…sir?"

"…the Minister wants answers, concentrate on names and places…we'll Imperio if we have to."

"…but sir…the war's…"

"Scrimgeour wants to know where Potter and Voldemort are…and how the muggles defeated him understand Proudfoot? The war is at an end when the Minister says it is."

"Yes Williamson sir…"

Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Is this legit Harry."

"Yes…after UNIT's involvement with a Minister of the same name this week with the Prime Minister I believe so."

They watched as the three men walked up to the desk, the taller man who had a long pony tail tied tight against his back marched up.

"Do you have an appointment within this building sir?"

"Yes…Legillmens." The man said pointing the stick at the woman at reception who didn't appear to look up from her computer.

"And what time was your appointment with Legillmens sir?"

The men were staring not at her but at the stick.

"Proudfoot…you try."

"Legillmens, Legillmens!" The man said forcefully, nothing happened.

"We should leave sir." The woman said glancing around cautiously.

"One more…_Imperio!_."

Nothing happened, though no one within the room expected anything to happen, least of all Harry who knew what had been installed throughout Thames House, the devices provided by Lethbridge Stewart that concerned 'extra security'.

"Let's go, Proudfoot, Tonks."

Then the three appeared to…push something that wouldn't come.

Then they ran, out of the building and into the street where…they were there and then…they weren't.

"What do you think Tom, Zoe?"

"The words are odd…" Zoe started.

"You mean the words that they used when they were…"

"Not just that Tom…they were very structured…the inflection wasn't…" Zoe paused. "It was like they'd learnt to speak from a play from maybe 100 or so years ago, like those badly trained Syrians."

Harry just nodded.

"The words…it was Latin…a corruption…" Tom grabbed a pad of paper from Harry's desk and wrote the two words down.

_Legillmens_

_Imperio_

Then he showed it to Zoe.

"I thought you were the expert?" She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Impero is – command…" Tom trailed off.

"The second one means telepath…or reader of the mind…I studied the Thascalus Procedure at one point…he wrote an essay on the theory." Zoe said at the stares.

"What do you want us to do Harry?"

"Get all the footage, then find out if any other agencies have been visited by these…people."

They nodded before leaving.

Harry grabbed the phone dialing a secure and untraceable number which would patch him through to General Lethbridge Stewart for an explanation.

_--//_

_There it is chapter 40._

"V_estri vicis est sursum" __is Latin for 'Your time is up."_

_This chapter dealt mainly with the aftermath of the battle in a different style to the previous, the Ministry is pretty much in an information blackout, as they didn't have anything to do with Voldemort's 'death' they're seeking out all other sources of information (all of which have closed their doors to wand users)._

_Moody might seem a little snarky towards Hermione, but it's his paranoia coming forth (and with that some xenophobia towards muggles) as he was affectively 'bested' by Jones and his team._

_At this point both Birmingham (aboard the ACSC Flinders) and Harry (in the __Shadow Blaze__) are both on-route to the star system, the Flinders left earlier but is slower than the Shadow Blaze._


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 41**

As the ASCS Flinders powered its way towards an unnamed star system another Australian Space Core Ship flew its way towards a better known and used planet which held Research Outpost 2 a planet with a barely habitable atmosphere, however it held many useful hydrocarbons used in the construction of the UNIT vessels.

Currently the ASCS Hattah was travelling using its hyperspace window generator engines, the blue and white colours of the edges of hyperspace streaking past the ship.

"Captain we're getting a signal." Captain Chris Rogers looked up at his Secondary Systems Coordinator.

"Linguistics?"

"They're running it through, it's a video and audio transmission, the video's up…audio…no…but they're patching through a basic translation."

"Lets hear it and prepare to disengage engines close enough to the source of the transmission."

"Sir."

One of the three screens changed to show what appeared to be a large…slug.

"Translation is coming through now…"

"Umm…Transmission to all…unidentified word, deepest…request for…assistance or fighting, unidentified word, unidentified pronoun, unknown noun, attack…Linguistics say they should be able to come up with a translation system if we get more of the alphabet."

"Good, that's why I like Daleks…easy to translate, no negotiations, simple, have we got a lock on the signal?"

"Sensor analysis has got a vague area Captain."

Captain Rogers nodded to himself.

"Battle Alert, drop us outside projected battle space."

Around the ship all areas locked down and prepared for battle, pilots rushed to be ready in their Thylacines, weapons ran through safety checks defensives systems were prepped.

Then the ASCS Hattah dropped out of the edges of hyperspace that it had been skimming in a bright flash of blue and white like a cloud blooming in space.

"Battle Space is up, we're getting preliminary readings…multiple weapons contacts…"

"How many…"

"3 vessels…sensor and battle analysis is coming through…"

Two of the screens in front of the captain and the main focus of the command deck changed from their data to the battle space display and a detailed silhouette of the three ships, Rogers frowned and stared at the images with a worry, he hit the button from the drop down 'periscope' beside him.

"Tell me that those ships aren't what I think they are."

"80 percent match to Arcturan ships encountered previously Captain."

"What about the other ship?"

"Conflicted readings, there's too much weapons fire and defence fire going on." Replied the man on in the sensor analysis area at the rear of the ship.

"Deploy Thylacines, defence perimeter around the ship, interceptors ready, cannons on standby. Linguistics I want a broad channel transmission use what we've got on the Arcturans use everything."

"5 minutes to weapons range, 3 minutes to communication range." Williams stated.

"Arcturan vessels this is the UNIT vessel ASCS Hattah, leave this area of space…"

"No response captain, diplomacy is requesting to attempt to open a dialogue with the unknown vessel."

"Let them do it, but I want them and linguistics to have their main focus on anything that's communicated by the Arcturans."

"Ships have stopped firing on unknown vessel, they're rotating on their axis."

"To leave the system…" The captain asked hopefully.

"Missile launch detected!"

The four missiles lit up a flashing red on the battle space projection.

"Interceptors." From the top and base of the ship the interceptors fired out hot flashes of power to stop the large missile shaped weapons on approach, only shrapnel remained a moment later but the ship was already moving toward one of the two vessels.

"Port side cannons open fire on second vessel, Thylacines to provide defence to unknown vessel, prepare main weapons to fire."

"Blasting or cutting curses sir?"

"What does battle analysis suggest?"

"Uh…" Roberta quickly read over her the screens before her, "Given the close in battle and possible shrapnel, cutting is suggested as the best."

"Swap it over."

In the forward areas of the ship the main crystal and technological interface which provided the mix of the magical with the technological were carefully swapped by personnel wearing specially designed micro-gravity suits.

The main weapons were a larger, more powerful construction but were basically the same technology as the Stun/Kill side arms…however these weapons were immensely more powerful, and did a lot more than just stun.

"Weapons ready captain."

"Fire." The weapons officer nodded and inputted the coordinates obtained by the battle and sensor analysis department.

Two deep purple beams of energy spewed outwards from the ASCS Hattah's main weapons at the Artcuran vessel impacting against an energy field and began cutting through it.

"Second vessel turning to fire against us…missles launched from both vessels incoming fire."

The main weapons stopped at this point, charms and spells laid along the length of the main weapons activated cooling the systems down before it would fire once more, this brief drop in energy requirement was a benefit to the rest of the ship given the amount of energy weapons and physical weapons being fired at the ASCS Hattah.

"Ready forcefields…wait for it…wait for it…" Captain Rogers watched the readout as the interceptors fired off attempting to stop the mass of missiles approaching the ship.

"Activate." Energy in the form of massive forcefield sprung up around the ship, halting all the energy weapons and physical shunting the ship through the concussive force of the missile's impact.

"Sensor analysis of the missile's impact…potentially destructive should they impact with the ship's outer shell captain."

"Fire main weapons again." Rogers said.

"Alert from sensor analysis, enemy ships launching fighter craft."

Rogers stared at the battle space display for a moment as the craft spread out away from the two main craft.

"Battle analysis suggest they're trying to box us in…weapons fire coming in on all sides." SSC Roberta Williams said carefully bracing herself.

There was a noise along the ship of energy weapons impacting against the ship's outer hull, a hull that had like all UNIT space craft been treated with a vast array of magics born from the sorcery and apothecary department at Night Wolf together with the various researches of Night Wolf Command, the Gibson Desert Research and Construction facility and the Norther Highlands Construction and Research facility to make a battle ready craft, the net result was that most of the damaging portions of an energy weapon was spread out and deflected leaving only the physical imact, which was also lessened…however it didn't make the ship indestructible, just hardy.

"Status?"

"No breaches, interceptors are retargeting for incoming fighter craft fire…at 80 percent and holding…main craft one is disabled…second craft is…shit…" Roberta said as she switched concentration for a moment listening to the information being said at speed to her as well as the information pouring through.

Outside the ship the attack craft were still moving inwards towards the ASCS Hattah, the Thylacines were beginning to loose their edge against their craft as the manoeuvrable space decreased, the damaged unknown vessel was attempting to add it's firepower to the Thylacines' attacks but had lost propulsion and through it all fire reined down on the ASCS Hattah, dull green impact marks beginning to form on its hull.

"We're loosing our manoeuvrability sir…"

"And with it our ability to target properly…"

"Battle strategy suggest extreme movement to out manoeuvre attacking fighters…if the attacks continue the interceptors will loose effectiveness in 10 minutes, hull breaches in 15, the second ship has moved outside minimum range."

"Receiving coded signal from Thylacine squad, 'unable to continue assault, taking heavy ancillary fire'." Rogers nodded to the communications officer.

"Get them to pluck off any fighter crafts, the other ship will have to manage on its own for a second."

"Battle strategy come up with a firing pattern, get ready to implement it Lucas. Felix…one of the extreme manoeuvres." Captain Rogers said with a grim smile as he grabbed at his harness and clicked it all into place pulling the straps hard.

Roberta Williams hit the button warning all personnel for extreme manoeuvres and gravity field decrease, even through the captain hadn't ordered it, it was most likely…

"Roberta, power status?"

"Gravity field's hampering us, we've still got force fields…but we can only create a full ship wide field maybe twice more…everything else is at full."

"Stretch back gravity field, standby to disengage interceptors."

"Roberta…when I shout now activate the forcefields, I'm going to try something to...eliminate our problems." Lt Felix Stroud

"Very well Fellix, do it Roberta. Let's do it."

The ASCS Hattah without any warning leapt forward, its main engine firing up to half power propelling it at what would appear to be within the definition of 'ramming speed' towards the disabled craft they had initially come to rescue.

"Stand by rear stern force fields Roberta." Felix shouted as he gripped the controls used for tight manoeuvring.

"Lt Stroud…"

The ASCS Hattah's top side manoeuvring thrusters kicked in at one hundred and ten percent pivoting the up, the top of the ship or rather the force field protecting the ship crashed into several craft sending shrapnel, atmosphere and some sort of support fluid into space. The thrusters continued to push the ship over until the bow of the ship was facing the second ship.

"Order thylacines safe distance all power to forward weapons, all weapons open fire!"

The red of a blasting curse shot out at amazing speed towards the second craft, cannons along the sides of the ship swivelled and shot continuous fire out at the ship as the ASCS Hattah continue to move along the length of the ship, momentum carrying it along.

"Move us around, I don't want that second ship getting away."

"Sir."

"Remaining fighters attempting to form up."

"Rear cannons focus on fighters in range, Thylacines take out…" Rogers glanced at the battle space display. "Take out remain fighters outside our predicted range for cannons."

"Adjusting for ship to ship attack."

"Any signals?" Rogers said stopping for a moment. To ask that vital question, was the enemy ready to surrender?

"Linguistics say no sir, nothing directed at us or our craft."

"Open fire."

Less than an hour after the battle had begun there was only shrapnel and two craft hanging in the blackness of space.

Captain Chris Rogers waved a hand in front of him waving away the smoke which had resulted in a short out of something in the final moments of their battle.

"Damage?"

"Nothing structural, a few shorts and small fire in cargo 2, it's under control, we've got some small cracks along the out hull…and some residue from the force field impacts with the fighter crafts."

"Get linguistics and diplomacy to send off our language and number codes…"

"Captain they can send it now…they've been preparing it…"

"Yes, yes…friendly contact it's better than 'we want to exterminate you' any day, tell them to send it off and let's wait for a reply."

Rogers leaned into his chair.

"How long until we've got a grav-field back?"

"Engine and power systems say they're easing it back now sir, fire is under control, but they want to leave it at extreme minimum to assess for any structural damage."

Rogers nodded unbuckling his 6 point harness, rubbing his shoulders where he'd pulled the straps that little bit too tight.

"Have the thylacine squad break in half and do a detailed sweep of the area of space, keep relative distance from the craft we just saved, _just _in case." Rogers said as he rose to look at the constantly updated battle space display, and then looked to the other, there was a lot of debris around here.

"What have found out so far on the unknown ship?"

"Sensor analysis say it reads as a partially organic ship."

"Like Potter's craft?"

"No…they're still going through their sensor readings…" Roberta said frowning.

There was relative quiet as his crew worked before Roberta exclaimed around 5 minutes later.

"Sir, linguistics say we've got a signal coming through, it's on our receivable frequency…and they say it's in English!"

"Well…lets see it."

The screen fizzed for a few moments before clarifying into an image of the…thing/person/alien that they'd seen before, it was…a large slug/snail like creature with rudimentary shell covering some of its back it/thing/alien even had long-ish eyes on stalks.

"We praise you for your timely intervention, I am Searcher of Triumphs Worker of Skills…"

Captain Chris Rogers bit his lip and wondered whether diplomacy was going to step in or if he was going to…."I am Captain Chris Rogers…can we be of assistance with your craft?"

There was a slight pause and the picture fizzed again.

"That is most…generous of you Captain, however we do not know of a safe planet close to our current location."

Rogers smiled, they close enough to Research Outpost 5 and with the recent work there, there was plenty of room to land two ships.

"We can assist you Searcher of Triumphs Worker of Skills…my diplomacy department can send you coordinates relative to our location of a planet where we might land and assist you with repairs…a safe planet…"

"We are most grateful to you…what is your species so that we might know you…"

"Human…and you if I might ask Searcher of Triumphs Worker of Skills?"

"We are the Hith, thank you…" The video link fuzzed out. Captain Rogers turned to Roberta.

"We've still got audio, diplomacy and linguistics are sending the coordinates and explaining…they say you did well." She smiled.

"So friend or foe?" He wondered out loud to his command crew.

"Well they didn't try to exterminate us, that's always a plus." Felix said turning around from his controls. "Do I point us towards Outpost 5?"

"Yes, but wait until we're confirmed with diplomacy, we'll let them leave first."

--//

Lethbridge Stewart shoved his hands in the long coat he was wearing as he walked down the path alongside the Thames towards the agreed meeting place.

_**The Previous afternoon…**_

Lethbridge Stewart turned the piece of paper over in his hand, it was a copy of the original which while it had no _detectable _magic on it was deemed close proximity unsafe by Leidel a sorcerer who had not accompanied Birmingham, but had been left in charge of his department while he was 'out' for close on a month.

The parchment had been delivered via owl to a former safe house of Night Wolf, despite their best efforts the bird had flown too far outside the CCTV network to accurately track its destination or starting point.

It was a request for a meeting, a procedure Jules Winter had used during his time recruiting for Night Wolf and assisting werewolves during his time 'around'.

"_General Lethbridge Stewart, more prisoners for us to sort through?"_

"Something quite different Professor Winter. I'm sending you a message we received at 1300 today through one of your old safe houses."

"_Which one Alistair?"_

"St Mawes on the Roseland Peninsular."

Jules Winter nodded smiling fondly.

"_One of my favorites, the people there now weren't worried when the owl came?"_

"No Winter, they were briefed on the basics part of their 'out' deal with 6."

"_So let me see…" _Winter switched his gaze from the screen and camera to the image that was coming through.

_Odin has cast his sights and we have fallen into displeasure, the seasons we seek to view, I seek a communion with the coldest and fairest._

_We need to talk, Thames bankside 0300 tomorrow._

_Romeo_

Winter nodded as he read it.

"_I know who might have sent it, they're a couple, they ran off together to run a retreat on the Isle of Man the last I knew._"

"Is it genuine?"

"_He said he'd never contact us again, he did a lot of work during the first war, nearly got him and his love killed…Alistair he'd do anything to keep his family safe…after he was tortured helping his wife escape Voldemort during the first war he vowed never to get mixed up in any of it again, __if __someone's found them they've gone to a great length…"_

"But?"

"_But everyone who resettled knows how to get in contact with me…"_

Lethbridge Stewart nodded to himself, it didn't feel right.

"I think I will need to meet these people, especially if they've decided to resort to terrorizing these people, just to get information from us."

"_I trust you'll be careful Alistair."_

"I always am Winter."

"_Very well, I will endeavor to contact __Romeo_."

"No chance I can?"

"_No, not if the ministry's thugs have already."_

"I will message you back with the results."

--//

"Any sign?" Lethbridge Stewart imperceptivity murmured to himself.

"_Negative sir, there is something there…however there's a distortion field in operation no luck of a shot until you're close and can negate."_ Lt Cameron Rayner's voice came through in his ear via the tiny ear piece. He was a recent transfer from the Royal Marines, an excellent marksman, especially with the sniper rifle.

With Jones and his much of his team currently testifying in Geneva Lethbridge Stewart had assembled a small team to back him up on this operation, it was argued that someone else might go in his place, but the message was clearly directed at Winter, someone high in authority at Night Wolf at the time and Lethbridge Stewart was beginning to get annoyed with the multiple wand user 'incursions' into various facilities, locations…even Buckingham Palace, however the Royals had been at Checkers for an official visit.

Lethbridge Stewart wanted to meet and 'discuss' their questions…and he had all the tools of discussion with him.

The coat he was wearing had been specially altered to hold a compact, though still quite heavy jamming device, it had a minimum range of around 70cm radiating outwards, he had holstered a S/K-1, a hand gun and a smaller pistol on his ankle.

There was also in the way of close by backup in the form of Sorcerer Jackie Williams, she was currently stalking around at distance out of sight for him.

"Williams?"

"_Rayner's right a distortion field, you'll feel something when you sit down sir…but if it was something extreme it'd be warping the outline of the bench, I can feel…something, they're working some wards even now…nothing extreme…but there are more than one of them."_

"Standby approaching last checkpoint."

The checkpoint was a CCTV camera the feed of which had been rerouted to a UNIT control van manned by a Lt Oliver Hays for any inconstancies or possible threats.

Lethbridge Stewart counted silently to himself as he walked toward the bench and pushed a hidden button within his coat and withdrew his gloved hands into the cool London air while gripping a white rose, this was supposedly the meeting signal.

He took his seat on the bench well aware the jamming field had eliminated whatever occlusion field, revealing a man sitting next to him, and another two people one on each side of the bench, however he continue to stare outward across the Thames holding the rose in one hand.

"_Line of sight on man to you right sir, awaiting signal." _Came the quiet voice in his ear drum.

Then he felt the rose being taken out of his hand.

"Finite Incantium."

"You're Winter?" Asked a woman to Lethbridge Stewart's left as she pulled off a hood.

"Why did you request a meeting Ms…?"

"We're asking the questions muggle." The man beside him jabbed him in the side with a wand.

"Dawlish is that really how we should addressing him?" Asked a man to the other side of the bench, he pulled off his hood as well revealing a man with bright red hair.

"Arthur Weasley…I work assisting muggles…"

"Arthur…" The woman trailed off but motioned Arthur Weasley to move back from trying to shake his hand, Lethbridge Stewart raised an eyebrow…Weasley…that was the same name as Harry's friend at Hogwarts…

"So Ms…why did your people find the need to…extract information to request my presence."

"Extract…we did nothing of the sort…I mean…I was not directly responsible for how the information was obtained…Minister Scrigemour's staff…"

"Bones…we should stick to the topic." The man growled beside him.

"Mr Winter…"

"Do we know that's his name Ameilia?"

"Are Winter?" Sighed Bones as she acknowledged Weasley's request.

"No. What do you want Ameilia Bones?"

"Then who…"

"I am an associate of his, what do you want?" He asked again slowly and carefully.

"I represent a department of law enforcement…we want to know what happened to Voldemort…we know that muggles were involved."

"I know." Lethbridge Stewart said simply. "I also know you've been harassing every government department in the United Kingdom looking for answers."

"How did you know that we...you're just…" The man spluttered jabbing him with the wand again.

"Dawlish go to the perimeter, I thought I saw something." Bones ordered, the man rose disgruntled and started walking around cautiously in what appeared to be nothing more than a random walk.

Bones took his place.

"Mr…" Lethbridge Stewart raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "My government needs some information to assist in our…duties…especially the location of certain…combatants from the battle with Voldemort."

"What battle would that be Ms Bones."

"The battle between Harry Potter and he-who-must-not-be-named…we were there we saw…" Weasley said quickly and anxiously. "We just need to know…"

"And barging into every establishment demanding and waving those around is your method of working it out?" Lethbridge Stewart asked again calmly.

"Mr …whoever you are…we know you you have knowledge connected to the attack and somehow you've warded all your…government buildings…we ask for the safety of everyone that you explain what happened to Voldemort, where Harry Potter is and why we cannot cast any magic within certain buildings." Bones's tone changed to a colder tone as she withdrew her wand, nodding to the man behind him.

"Amelia you said…."

"The minister gave me instructions Weasley…we've still got problems out there…"

"Mr Winter please…we don't need to do this…I'm very fond of muggles…that whole eklektricity thing brilliant…we just need to know…he-wh-must-not-be-named was a large…"

"Terrorist?" Lethbridge Stewart offered as Weasley stepped over from the side of the bench to next to Bones.

"What's a terry-wrist? He was a dark wizard…a problem in _our world_ we just need…"

"What we need is answers Weasley. Bones I have the Veritaserum ready."

"Good. I am sorry Mr Winter or whoever you are but if we don't get the information…"

"Disable rear target."

"_Sir."_

There thud of someone's shoulder exploding as a large calibre bullet ripped through the tissues making Dawlish drop his wand in pain.

"What's happening, what…Lumos." Weasley said his wand in his hand instantly, Bones who had jumped up into a fighting stance and was looking around with careful eyes. "Arthur check on Dawlish."

"It's not fatal." Lethbridge Stewart said from his still sitting position. "But as demonstrated we will not sit here and let you…wipe our memories, interrogate us, or think of us as fond…things…Ms Bones." Lethbridge Stewart said gazing over to the middle aged woman.

"I was merely going to…"

"Interrogate me Ms Bones, don't think me a fool to not know what Vertaserum is. Veritas Ms Bones…truth. Now for some truth to you, we are not going to idly by and let you and your government continue to burst in and start demanding information of our politicians, our facilities, our citizens of the United Kingdom. You might have enjoyed some…pressure in the past, but we were forced to fight back when you wand users didn't and people started dying." Lethbridge Stewart rose from the seat coming to stand close to Bones face to face. "Your minister acknowledged that Voldemort has been eliminated, those who have committed crimes will be justly punished. If you're looking for control of us 'muggles' Ms Bones, if you thought you were ever entitles to it you're as bad as Voldemort, if you're demanding it of us with a smile on your face you're just like Dumbledore and since you were so ready to tie me up and question me under Veritaserum then you must have been part of Fudge's regime. Good day Ms Bones." Lethbridge Stewart turned and walked away along the Thames. Leaving Ameliea Bones and Arthur Weasley staring at him as he walked away.

--//

_The first half of this chapter has been in my head for a while needing to be written, it sets up a few things for future chapters._

_Namely first contact with a a friendly race the Hith they're from (Doctor Who New Adventure) __Original Sin By Andy Lane. __It's another of my obscure Doctor Who references…which doesn't really matter, I mainly wanted a alien species which was __really__ alien, and big slug/snail like people with long descriptive names are more interesting than bipedal people (there'll most likely be more on the Hith later)._

_The second half of the chapter was written earlier today before posting and is a response to some people who asked for a little bit more on the Ministry's actions from last chapter. This gives the Brigadier a face to face, lets him vent a little bit plus another wizard gets shot (not fatally though)._

_Harry will definitely appear next chapter._

_Thanks for reading._


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

Chapter 42 

Birmingham shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk along the length of the ship as he thought through the various bits and pieces of information that he'd collated and ideas that he'd noted down for the Brigadier's perusal.

They would need Birmingham had decided after many long and seemingly endless days a large base of operations, not on Earth, he'd actually decided upon this from speaking to the people in the engine and power management area on the ASCS Flinders, in which he was currently in.

Given the spacing of their research outposts, and the probability that they were going to accumulate more Night Wolf would need another base of operations, an planet where ships could touchdown, make repairs, take on supplies, relay information and whatever else.

A research base would need to be like a university, which was what Birmingham had really decided on, a place where they could research while not on Earth, so Night Wolf could collect personnel and train them, teach them, teach students how to…

"Live and not think the sky will fall and that aliens exist…and aren't friendly." Birmingham muttered to himself and smiled grimly, that was what being locked inside a ship for nigh on two weeks was doing to him, he was talking to himself.

Night Wolf would also need experienced teachers, to teach and learn along side their students and who ever else studying under them…

In the process of his research it was clear they were in dire need of people in various fields, xeno-archaeology needed a boost, astrology (taking into account a non-Earth central position), even temporal theory…not something they wanted to dabble in, but something they would need to know about, considering the amount of temporally active individuals who visited Earth…not just the Doctor in any and all of his faces, the Master, the Daleks, and who knew how many more would start showing up.

Sorcerers would be excellent in many of the roles, especially those who were disenchanted with the 'wizarding world', in Britain…Birmingham knew from living in it what a secularised world it was, a world that had barely moved beyond the Middle Ages.

There were only so many wand users accepted to Hogwarts each year, a group of that size would be trying, though not impossible to track with the right group on it, they and their parents or guardians could be spoken to either directly as the United Nations or some sort of intermediary…not every wand user wanted to become a paper pusher serving the self proclaimed aristocrats or rearing dragons…

In other countries within Europe and in Australia and New Zealand there was more openness and disclosure, they weren't as secularised as Britain and therefore other techniques could be explored.

It was about options rather than a choice of one or two paths.

There were also many specialists within UNIT who had…experience with…'outside influences', be it actual travel into space…and time and others who had direct experience, they could be approached over the natural course of setting up such an endeavour.

Birmingham sighed to himself and turned around as he felt the gravity diminish as he walked further out of the gravity field and started on his way back toward the main parts of the Flinders where gravity was stronger.

Birmingham sat at a table in the mess as he waited for Captain Jennings to come for their what had become regular breakfast.

Birmingham scowled at the full breakfast before him with its amazingly fresh mushrooms and tomatoes, he'd been on this ship for close on two weeks and not once had he had a bad meal, it was slightly irritating for him.

Paul Jennings sat into his field of view.

"Birmingham."

"Captain Jennings…how long until we reach our destination?" Birmingham asked, the question he'd asked for the past 11 days.

Jennings chuckled. "You're not the only one who's been thinking that Birmingham…but it shouldn't be much longer my crew's pushed the engines a little harder so we should be able to disengage our hyperspace window generators a day earlier than we expected."

Birmingham nodded. "How's your work going?" Jennings asked as he stirred a mug of coffee.

"Next time I'll bring something with me other than work…" Birmingham shook his head making the captain laugh. "Lethbridge Stewart will have plenty of recommendations to read through when we get back…" Birmingham frowned at that thought.

"Yes…all the way there, a light show and then we get to turn around…isn't space travel a marvel Sorcerer?"

"Like the sailors of old Captain…except not even the stars to guide us…or a window to gaze out of…the next time Harry wants to blow up a star I'm ordering someone else to go along."

"There's going to be a next time?"

"Let's hope not Captain, though it seems when Harry makes enemies…"

"He wants to make sure they stay dead?"

"Precisely." Birmingham acknowledged as he chewed thoughtfully on a garden fresh tomato.

The following 'day', not that there was much separating day from night aborad a space ship travelling along the edges of hyperspace, but it was the following time from when Birmingham had gone to sleep and awoken.

Birmingham stood on the bridge waiting for them to emerge into the (still unnamed) system.

"Approaching coordinates now…"

In a flash of energy the Australian Space Core Ship _Flinders _was spat back into normal space between a desolate planet and a large star.

"There it is Sorcerer our target…"

"It's Harry's target Captain…we're merely the transport…it's his finger on the trigger so to speak."

"Ready to light the fuse on what is probably the biggest explosion in history…and this guy hasn't finished school…" The captain muttered the last part to himself.

"Yes…" Birmingham muttered equally to himself staring at the image of the sun for a few moments.

"Constantine are we receiving data from the probes left behind?" The captain asked his Secondary Systems Co-ordinator.

"Sensor analysis is already coming through, they're uploading the data since they were placed."

"Prepare to transmat additional monitors to the planet and surrounding space Night Wolf want a full sensor capture when Mr Potter lights his fuse. Have we got confirmation that this is the sun and the planet has the Q40 element?" The captain asked as he regarded his own smaller display which had dropped down from the ceiling.

"Yes sir, more than substantial amounts of the Q40 element beneath the surface…sensor analysis and the other departments are…" Constantine Townsend paused for a moment. "Very excited large and concentrated quantities of the element sir."

Birmingham stepped back watching them work, it was he had to admit to himself quite a bit more interesting than the day to day workings of the ship that he'd been treated to when he'd come to the bridge previously, the checking, the scanning of nothing as they flew towards their destination.

"Captain…I will go and check with my colleagues in the transmat area with the dwarf star alloy…Harry could arrive at any time."

"Of course Birmingham…we'll inform you when he arrives…if everything is running to schedule he should appear within the next couple of hours…or at the most within a day."

Birmingham nodded and walked calmly toward the matter transmission area and to the area which dealt with the transmats.

Many of his fellow sorcerers were waiting, some nervously, some just wanted it over so they could return to Earth and their familles…many of them just wanted out of this ship that they'd been confined within for the past 12 days…though a walk outside probably wasn't recommended.

The dwarf star alloy a black and grey substance was sitting ready on a raised pedestal, each of the sorcerers spread out again regarding the small piece of unearthly substance born from the heart of a dying star, they had met in this room several times during the voyage.

They'd met, talked over how they would proceed, they'd studied te very acoustics of the room and the element that they were to charm, how each sorcerer would begin to charm it, the very coordinates which would set into the charm.

Now they spread out re-familiarising themselves with the room, the element and what they would about to be doing when the moment arrived.

Around twp hours later almost all of the Flinders' crew was still hard at work deciphering, analysing the data around them.

"Energy spike!"

"Is it Harry Potter?" The captain asked as one of the main screens switched to show a small black as black craft sweep away from it's own hyperspace window and come along side them.

"Open communications and put it through to Sorcerer Birmingham." Jennings hit a button. "Birmingham, Harry's arrived comms is coming through now…"

"Harry, How've you held up?" Birmingham asked after a few moments of silence.

"_Birmingham, next time I'm taking a bigger ship. Ready here, let's finish this."_

Birmingham chuckled but noted the tiredness of Harry's voice and the determined edge to it.

"_We're just about to charm the portkey."_

Birmingham nodded to his fellows who were mainly sitting around reading, they each removed their wands, Birmingham looked over at the person manning the transmat controls.

"Ready on your signal Sorcerer Birmingham."

"Good. Ready?" He asked the assembled Sorcerers, they each stood a perfectly measured distance from the allow to maximise their charms, their placement also in relation to it and each other also assisted in the power transmutation and alignment.

There was a comment of affirmation.

"Then we begin." Birmingham said as he started his own murmuring to himself and the others.

That was how it would begin, an almost silent murmuring, muttered the charms involved up to the spell, working the power through their wands into the alloy around it and through it.

Each one of them marginally different but thinking on same course of action, on the same coordinates, on for the same purpose.

The very precise wand movements, tight and controlled, the murmuring upped a notch into muttering and the muttering into talking…soon the talking was speaking and the speaking chanting, the power expressed by these individuals was almost buzzing around them as they focused on the small piece of a long dead star before them.

Birmingham blinked the sweat away from his eyes counting down in his head as he continued to chant jabbing his wand and gripping it tight he wrenched his eyes away from it and broke the chant. His voice almost carried away by the others.

"5 seconds, transmat 5 seconds…mark."

4 seconds, the chanting was building to a crescendo.

3 seconds, the final pieces of the power of the most powerful portkey were falling into place.

2 seconds the chanting reached its crescendo and there was an almost swirling as the everything dropped into the portkey.

1 second…it was finished and looked unassuming, but the countdown within it was already running, nothing could stop its countdown now.

Then it disappeared moved through space into the missile attached to a craft flown by a man prophesied to destroy someone who was once a man named Voldemort.

"Transmat in progress, you have the element Shadow Blaze."

"_Ready to launch Flinders."_

The captain nodded to his comms officer.

"Clear for launch Shadow Blaze."

Captain Paul Jennings looked at the timers on the left handed screen on the bridge, they had various countdowns.

The portkey countdown was still running it had begun as soon as the transmat had placed it inside the Shadow Blaze's missile.

There was a second countdown for the for when the missle was launched and then reached it's target.

Then a third would activate counting down to the exactly right moment when they would activate the transmat removing Voldemort from the transmat cage, just _before _the sun exploded.

They didn't want to activate it too soon…just in case the mad bugger some how got himself away from the extreme heat, radiation and the vaccum of space, they didn't, and neither did Harry Potter, Night Wolf or UNIT command in Geneva want any problems, they only wanted to go through this once.

"Shadow Blaze has launched missile."

"Track it as far as we can."

"Running through test sequence on Transmat Cage and Transmat systems."

The captain looked at the screen four minutes until the portkey activated transporting a sizeable chunk of the star's mass some distance away and began the destabilising sequence of events which would lead to a quite large explosion.

"Shadow Blaze is moving into final position. Transmat systems are synced and locked for transmat."

"Our escape trajectory?"

"Ready sir, and three alternatives should anything go awry."

"Good."

Two minutes later the countdown for the portkey reached zero.

"Energy emissions detected, portkey has activated...sensor analysis confirms energy mass at assigned coordinates."

"Countdown to sun critical mass 2 minutes and counting." Constantine said automatically as the next timer kicked in.

"Run another check on the transmat system and link between us and the Shadow Blaze." Jennings almost shouted.

There was a pause as the countdown hit 1 minute.

"All checks done, all power stable, ready."

As the countdown clicked to 40 seconds the captain nodded to himself, he needn't give an order his personnel in the transmat controls knew what and when they were doing their part.

"Zero in on transmat coordinates…let's make sure it worked and start backing us away, prime hyperspace window generators."

"Ready…"

With 30 seconds until critical mass the transmats engaged removing Voldemort, he-who-must-not-be-named, Tom Marvolo Riddle from the transmat cage and into the radiation filled unforgiving vacuum of space, unfreezing him in an instant.

"Captain, Shadow Blaze is drifting it critical range of the sun, if he hasn't been exposed to lethal amounts of radiation he soon will be."

"Harry, get out of there, the sun will reach critical mass in…20 second…Say again Harry, wake up in there, sun detonation beginning, get out of there!" The captain stared at the screen, 15 seconds.

"Get us out of here."

The large ship moved quickly the hyperspace window forming and the ASCS Flinders shot away from the system.

15 seconds Harry Potter was transfixed watching his enemy perish as the forces of a star slowly ate away as the wizard tried desperately to escape.

10 seconds…

2 seconds…

Then the sun expanded outwards engulfing the thing that was Voldemort at that same moment the Shadow Blaze back flipped away from the exploding star and shot quickly into hyperspace towards an agreed rendezvous.

The ASCS Flinders shuddered slightly as it came out of the hyperspace window at some speed.

"Are we still receiving telemetry data?"

"Yes captain…however much of the data isn't breaching the radiation field, we'll have to go back and retrieve from close by."

"Any sign of Harry Potter?"

"Not at the moment…from what sensor analysis got before we departed the Shadow Blaze was drifting very close inside the radiation lethal area…."

"Have the doctor get ready anti-radiation treatments…just in case."

Constantine nodded typing in the requests.

A moment later a small crafted exploded out of its own hyperspace window and drew along side request entry to one of the side bays.

"Grant him access…I think I'll go down and meet him Constantine…tell the doc to get a medical team down there as well as well as the rad detectors…"

"Reading low levels of radiation on the craft from here captain." Constantine said as he rose from his chair.

"Fatal?"

"No…but recommend full decontamination and safety procedures…"

The captain nodded he'd keep his distance from the craft and Mr Potter and allow the med team to get to him first…

Jennings informed Birmingham of the situation as they met at the bay entrance doors.

"Do you think…" Birmingham began slightly worried.

"Let the med team get to him first, they suited up for this…just in case."

They walked out onto the deck where the medical team was already waiting, just off to the side.

The canopy of the Shadow Blaze opened and Harry Potter looking very much worse for wear pulled himself out, Birmingham made a move to help but was held back by the captain.

"It's over…" Harry slurred slightly.

"Yes Harry it's over…" Birmingham said.

"Good." Harry promptly passed out, but was caught by the medical team, two of which held Geiger counters.

"Minimal ambient radiation off of the patient captain…recommend full decontamination on the craft reading high levels from it…"

"Do we need to go to decontamination?" He asked them as they moved Harry onto a stretcher.

"No…the craft appears to have a concentrated radiation profile…it's limited to the craft…it shouldn't be doing that." The man of the medical team replied.

"I'll begin full procedures." The captain said as they followed them out of the bay.

Birmingham went to follow them but was held back by the captain.

"Don't…he'll be in de-contamination for a while for them to asses to exact exposure to the radiation…meet the doctor in quarantine…" Captain Jennings said Birmingham nodded before walking away at a controlled pace.

Jennings walked back to command and sat back into his chair.

"Status of all systems?"

"All systems ready, still receiving partial telemetry from the monitors."

"Plot a course back to the system, put in relative area of the port key end coordinates. Also, begin decontamination procedures on the _Shadow Blaze_."

"Captain already got requests coming in from sensor analysis and the astrology people…they want to get at the data before we start any decontamination on the ship."

"Give them an okay, but I want them focusing on retrieval of data from our monitors in the system, they can retrieve the data tell them to be careful…it's still an intelligent ship."

"Sir."

"Course plotted."

"Take us back in."

The ASCS Flinders spun on a wide turn and its powerful hyperspace window generators pulsed with life as they created a window again for the second time in the past 30 minutes and the ship disappeared…and reappeared in a quite hot system.

"Radiation readings?" The captain asked looked at the filtered images that were being displayed, the planet with the Q40 was still glowing as the outer layers burned away leaving the heavier elements behind on the surface it was still hotted than Mercury and just as dangerous as dancing in front of a Dalek.

"Within expected levels."

"Prepare to do a run around the system, have the absorption material ready to transmat."

The absorption material was a composite material created in a joint effort between Night Wolf's sorcery and apothecary department and the Gibson Desert research facility, they would be transmatting it near the planet to absorb some of the nastier radiation and to slowly cool the planet to make it viable for mining. The charms laced into the absorption material would activate slowly over the next few months hastening the natural process. Variations of the material would also be dropped around the system latching onto any particles to make it safer for work in the system.

"Loading commencing captain, should be ready in 10 minutes."

"Have sensors located the dwarf star alloy?"

There was a pause and the centre screen switched to show a highlighted small thing like a rock.

"Yes sir…as far as we can tell it's intact…still very hot…"

"It would be Constantine, earmark that area for the first of the absorption material, than have it transmatted and encased in a sealant and seal it away vacuum."

Birmingham stared as Harry was moved onto another hospital bed, his clothes were gone, being treated separately, he appeared to have been washed down, and now another medical professional still in a protective suit was running another Geiger counter over the young man.

From his face it looked optimistic, he moved calmly over to one of the cupboards removing a syringe and vial and then injected Harry with something, then he withdrew another jar of something and started to smother Harry with it. From his vantage point behind the protective screens it appeared to Birmingham to be an absorption balm of some kind, in texture and appearance it appeared similar to a balm used to extract lead from inside ancient bullet wounds. But it was the several shades too dark to be that specific balm.

"He should be alright Sorcerer Birmingham."

Birmingham chastised himself for not hearing the doctor approach.

"Will he…how much radiation was he exposed to?"

"Less than he should have been…we're just taking precautions."

"The balm…?"

"It's a radiometric frequency absorption paste…it will draw what radiation he was exposed to out into the paste which can then be removed safely without and problems to the patient…we've used it before…not on such overall coverage but he should recover Sorcerer."

"Is Harry injured elsewhere…aside from the radiation?"

"I'll know better when I get a look at him after he'd been through the paste treatment. But from the initial report…" He withdrew a small handheld computer. "He's got several gun shot wounds…though they've healed we'll be double checking for any bullet fragments, a stab wound possibly two, his initial blood work is just coming through but we'll be taking another after the treatment…he must have had life support on almost nothing…"

"Why is that Doctor Whitemore?"

"He's got dangerously high levels of CO2 in his blood stream…and also lacking several primary vitamins which will have hampered his recovery and left him more open to radiation exposure…we'll have him on a drip to get everything back up…"

"So…" Birmingham looked back to the unconscious young man who just blew up a star and destroyed one of the more insane tyrants.

"I'll contact you when he's out of quarantine and we're finished our tests…"

"Thank you Doctor." Birmingham looked at the not awake…and not sleeping figure and walked out, determined to fill his time with something other than concern.

The deploying of the material was going to plan the ASCS Flinders swung back around away from the planet.

"All of the material has been deployed captain."

"Have sensor analysis got all the data from the detonation?"

"Yes sir, they will continue to record telemetry and hold it in the memories of the probes until the next UNIT vessel comes back here." SSC Constantine Townsend reported.

"Good. Do one more sweep of the system and then plot a course home."

"Aye sir."

Moments later the ASCS Flinders opened a hyperspace window and shot through it aiming for Earth.

_--//_

_Not the end._

_There are still several things to sort out, multiple story lines to address and more than a few other things which will appear._

_I included a bit more on the radiation than in Sorcery, mainly because as that story was from Harry's POV (and he was a little obsessed at that time) he wouldn't have thought about it, but here obviously it's more of a concern._

_Thanks for reading (there is more of this story on the way)._


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 43**

Birmingham and Captain Jennings walked together in an amiable silence towards one of the sensor analysis' discussion rooms, they were attending to view a complete reconstruction from the data that had been collected on their ship and from Harry's ship.

Birmingham leaned against a chair as the data was set up to view.

"Is it good knowing that he's dead Birmingham?" Captain Paul Jennings asked from beside him.

Birmingham looked away from the blank screen for a moment.

"The people who do the worst things sometimes do not act overtly Captain. There have been many other people who have committed just as heinous crimes over the years who progressed through life unpunished because they wore a smile or were more of a politician than a person." Birmingham turned back to the screen as it switched to a view of the sun.

It was very…big and real, if Birmingham didn't know for a fact that they were currently travelling at great speed back towards Earth he could have sworn that the sun was outside the ship.

He looked to the side of the vast screen and there was a second just as large image which displayed what was obviously a view from Harry's craft as it displayed the ASCS Flinders within the shot.

Moments later and what was obviously a composite data feed displaying all elements of the situation; the ASCS Flinders, the Shadow Blaze and it tracked the missile firing followed by the port key activation.

Birmingham and the captain watched as Voldemort materialised in space, Birmingham stared as the …thing that was Voldemort tried in vain to cast a wandless spell, battling against vacuum, radiation and heat…then he was gone consumed by heat, flame and radiation.

The final scans before the Shadow Blaze departed the system and the sensor devices left there confirmed that Voldemort was utterly obliterated, there were no signs of him left.

Birmingham let out a breath.

"It is good to know captain that another bastard isn't going to cause any more suffering and pain, that Harry can live his life…and there's one less mad man that I don't have to kill." Birmingham muttered the last part to himself as he walked out of the room.

A few days later Birmingham entered the medical lab, he'd been informed by the SSC officer that Harry had been removed from quarantine.

"How is he doctor Whitemore?" Birmingham asked glancing over at the unconscious young man.

"He's better than he should be sorcerer…but that's nothing to celebrate. I've gone over our own radiation readings and those recorded by Mr Potter's craft he should have been exposed to a worse than lethal amount of radiation…"

"But?" Birmingham prompted after a few moments.

"The craft must have extended some sort of technological or bio-organic field to protect Mr Potter…it's quite remarkable…"

"Is he alright now?"

"We've still got him on an IV just to help flush out the remaining elements in his blood stream and bring his vitamin levels up, but he's no longer under any sedation so he could wake up any time now…"

Birmingham nodded and walked over to the young man's bedside and sat down removing his handheld computer from a pocket and continued to read through his notes that he'd made on the journey here, he would have plenty of time to work on it once more throughout the next 12 days for their return journey.

A few hours later Birmingham noticed a twitch of the eyes on Harry's face and raised an eyebrow, then Harry opened his eyes.

"Ah, Harry you're awake."

"Birmingham…" He croaked out, Birmingham handed him a cup of water which he gladly drank down.

Birmingham watched Harry staring at him silently wondering.

"We returned to the system Harry, still quite warm, but there is no trace of Voldemort." Birmingham went onto explain the results of their survey, that the planet was indeed very rich in the Q40 element…he also avoided completely informing Harry the dangerous amounts of radiation that he had been exposed to, it wouldn't do to exasperate him in the early stages…and it would probably be best coming from the doctor than him.

"Ok I'll bite so why did I collapse…"

Birmingham frowned before stating. "Apart from finally seeing the one person who wanted you dead?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Fine Harry, one of the many people who wanted you dead." Birmingham sighed and admitted to himself he wasn't the only one who had a price on his head…nor revenge burning in the stomach…

"Better. But apart from that?"

"Your trip didn't do you the best amount of good…." Birmingham trailed off wondering if Harry knew he was potentially putting his life on the line completing his mission…not that Birmingham had never done that…

"Shadow Blaze said the life support was at a minimum sustainable level…to get there quicker…" Harry trailed off.

"You were lacking a lot of oxygen, border line asphyxia the doctor tells me. Also malnutrition, and lack of many key vitamins, plus you've got a few extra scars, curse damage, and two stab wounds." Harry looked puzzled at his comment on the stab wounds.

"Marvellous. How long till we get back to Earth?" Harry asked his sarcasm seeping back into his sentences.

"You've been unconscious for 3 days, we've still got 12 days to go, we don't fancy asphyxia." Birmingham deadpanned.

"When can I…"

"The doctor says another 2 days of bed rest, to get your vitamin levels back up." Birmingham answered cutting him off.

"Fine…at least I can stretch out." Harry said illustrating his point as he ruffled up the sheets.

"How did you…" Birmingham asked curious as to how Harry managed to sit still for 12 or so days, with all his injuries.

"Spent most of it in my bird form…or in a non-form of shadowy stuff." Harry waved his hands around.

"The Brig will want it all in a report." Birmingham smiled as Harry laughed.

Birmingham stayed talking to Harry about random things until he fell asleep, Birmingham watched the young man for a few moments before leaving the medical lab.

Birmingham walked briskly through the corridors of the ship towards the cargo bay that held the Shadow Blaze and Harry Potter.

Birmingham had been informed that Harry Potter had left the medical lab in a hurry after being informed by the doctor of the large amounts of radiation that he and his craft had been exposed to.

Birmingham watched on as Harry walked over to the protective panels that sealed in the radiation absorbent material, Harry had an…affinity with the craft and they knew that it was semi-organic and intelligent to a degree…

Harry was standing a hand pressed against the panel staring at the craft.

"She sang to me…when I was unconscious you know Birmingham."

Birmingham nodded but doubted that Harry had head heard him, he was surprised he'd been able to hear him approach especially here away from the gravity field…there was still gravity but it left you much more light footed than when you were well inside the gravity field.

"What does the Shadow Blaze say now Harry?" Birmingham asked from his point just inside the bay.

"What do the people on the ship say?"

"That the _Shadow Blaze _absorbed a large amount of radiation, more than it should be able to…but then again it is much more alien than other craft we've worked with at Night Wolf…so you never know Harry…"

Harry turned away from the panel, his face solemn…though not exactly sad, he walked a distance away and sat on one of the crates.

"When she sang to me…it was like…not quite words…but impressions…" Harry trailed off before starting again. "She said…well gave me the impression that she was…hibernating until…" Harry trailed off his face strained remembering.

"Until…?" Birmingham prompted.

"Until…a time when it may or may not happen that she might be needed…"

"Another prophecy Harry?" Birmingham asked in an amused tone.

"Bloody better not be Birmingham…no it was…uncertain and time…I dunno the way she communicated with me…all very weird, like a Salvador Dali painting while travelling at hyperspace…bizarre…"

"That could have been the anti-radiation drugs Harry." Birmingham said lightly.

Harry chuckled rising to his feet grinning.

"I'd forgotten what it's like to be in a lighter gravity field."

"Lighter?"

"More…well yeah lighter."

"Come on Harry…the doctor says all the drugs are out of your system, the captain wants a word with you…I'm sure considering your deeds over the last couple of weeks he won't begrudge you a small drink." Harry grinned at that making Birmingham chuckle.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart turned the piece of paper in his hands a second time reading it a third and reaching for the phone after a fourth read.

It was a message that had been communicated to him via the UNIT Night Wolf Moonbase facility, it in turn had received it via their long range communication which involved a lot of power and calculations on the sender's part and involved bouncing the message against solid planets and systems to make it reach the distance in a recent enough amount of time.

Luckily the RSCS Victory was in a system close to Research Outpost 5 and had relayed the message, they would be there for at least the next week.

The message had been securely encrypted, his eyes only…he'd had to print it on the 'special' printer which used an ink developed by Night Wolf's apothecary division, the ink and the paper couldn't be copied, photographed, scanned or seen by anyone who hadn't placed their hand on the scanner allowing their own body oils to seep into the printing process.

The message was brief only one page…with their current communication technology that was all that could be safely transmitted without signal degradation.

It informed him that the ASCS Hattah had encountered a friendly species…the same that had been attacked by the Arcturans…and that they were opening diplomatic channels on Outpost 5.

--//

General Lethbridge Stewart walked through the corridors of UNIT Geneva, through the secure doors and into the Night Wolf areas and down another corridor to a small meeting room.

As he walked in he noticed everyone already present; Professor Paul Wynne (Commander of the Northern Highlands Research and Construction Facility), Professor Fiona Preston (Commander of the Gibson Desert Research and Construction Facility), Professors Jules Winter and Glenda Moore and General Brendan McGeoch were sitting and waiting.

Lethbridge Stewart allowed the door to close with a hiss before walked over to a control panel on the wall and activated all the switches along it.

This room was the most secure in the UNIT facility, it was probably the most secure room anywhere on Earth, when activated a vacuum formed right around the room, force fields engaged sealing them off from any communication, magical and matter transmission jammers engaged blanketing the room, it had its own air and power supply…in short it was totally secure.

"Now that the security is out of the way Brigadier…what exactly did you need to call _all _of us here on such short notice?" Professor Preston asked raising an eyebrow as Lethbridge Stewart walked over to a chair on the small table and plugged in a memory stick, before submitting himself to a palm and iris scan, a typed message, typed by himself and secure encoded to take to this meeting the previous day displayed on the screen which dominated one end of the room.

There was prominent silence as the various members of the different areas of Night Wolf read and digested this information.

UNIT and Night Wolf full accepted the existence of aliens, fought them on a regular basis, invasion, killing sprees…everything.

They had also lost many good men and women in attempting to negotiate with said species, it was also the reason why all UNIT vessels had linguistics and diplomatic experts on their ships…just in case they should encounter a friendly alien…or for the captains have at their disposal experts to get them out of potential situations…

But now…this message confirmed that one of their ships had encountered, saved and begun negotiations with an alien species…the Hith…

"Well…" Professor Moore said after what seemed like an age.

"I see why you wanted to use the special room Brigadier." Winter said.

"Yes…"

"Can we contact the captain of the Hattah?" McGeoch asked after a moment.

"No." Lethbridge Stewart, Professor Preston and Professor Wynne all answered at the same time before looking at each other.

Lethbridge Stewart shrugged as did Wynne.

"It's your craft and your captain." Wynne said gesturing with a hand.

"No General…we don't have anywhere near real time communications…that's one of the topics for our next meeting as well as the new jump gate construction…"

"Later Professor Preston." Lethbridge Stewart muttered.

"Fine…we use a method similar to bouncing radio signals off of the atmosphere…except it relies on the alignment of the planets between here and…wherever the signal is aimed at…even then there's a huge amount of power used to send it…and it's not exactly instantaneous."

"How much lag?" The general asked, curiously.

All three shrugged, Lethbridge Stewart only knew a vague timing, but spoke up as none of the others seemed willing to.

"Around 24 to 50 hours give or take…it's not a system we've needed to use in the past."

"It's a system we're hoping to replace." Wynne added.

"When's the next window to send a message?" Winter asked.

"My people at Night Wolf Command are still computing the data but the 'best guess' before I left was within the next 38 hours."

"Can we get a ship out there to bump up the relay time?" Preston asked. Lethbridge Stewart shook his head.

"The Hattah is on Outpost 5, Victory is scouting a system that was emitting the energy signatures…Flinders is enroute back from the star detonation…" Lethbridge Stewart listed off.

"And the Firefox is on Outpost 1, personnel change over and supply drop and change over of materials full job won't be back for at least a week." Wynne finished.

"Thank you Wynne." Lethbridge Stewart acknowledged with a small nod.

"I never thought I'd say this but we need more space craft…in fact considered that we'd need so many…" Winter mused more or less to himself.

There seemed to be a general agreement around the room, even with the four space craft they had they would need many more in the future…even with the shortening of space flight times with the jump gate technology…it would still take more than four ships to keep Earth and their Outposts safe.

"I think a short communication confirming to go ahead with diplomatic relations…they're to use their own judgement and that of their linguistics and diplomacy team…and to reiterate that should they want to come to Earth it will still be a secret…" Moore said after a few moments.

Lethbridge Stewart nodded.

"I will have the communication drafted and encoded for transmission from the moonbase." Lethbridge Stewart rose from his chair plucking the memory stick from the slot as he did and walked over to the panel and disengaged most of the safety systems, he left the magical jammers online for the moment as they started to file out. Then it was just Winter and Moore.

"How have the sentencing progressed?" He asked.

"It halted for today for this meeting Brigadier."

"I'm sorry to interrupt…however…"

"It was the right choice…I'm certainly happy to know that not all the aliens out there are bent on killing us, invading the planet…or interfering with out timeline." Moore said with a light smile.

"There've been 4 attempted suicides of those already sentenced and locked away." Winter said.

"Any successful?" Lethbridge Stewart asked neutrally.

"No…our psychologists and bio-space awareness specialists point to it being the acceptance that they cannot escape through magic of any kind…or through shouting a lot of them seem to think that will work." Winter elaborated.

"Good…" Lethbridge Stewart nodded. "I will forward a copy of the communication to you before it is sent."

"Very good Brigadier…and then we shall see were this development takes us…"

--//

_I did imply in the previous chapter (about the Shadow Blaze that is I mean) I did consider killing the craft off, mainly because it suited me to have a super fast brilliant craft in Sorcery…not so much in this story and not a lot in the coming stories. Superpowerful craft make everything a little too easy you get youself into situations where you ask yourself 'why doesn't Harry just use the Shadow Blaze' to get out of this whatever…_

_So I'm hibernating it_


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 44**

The ASCS Flinders swept swiftly into a high geostationary orbit above the United Kingdom.

Birmingham let a small sigh of relief escape him as he watched the planet fill the screens on the bridge, it had been a long two and a half weeks something he didn't want to do again very soon…at least next time he'd bring something more than work to keep himself occupied.

"Happy to be back Birmingham?" The captain asked as he rose from his chair, they were going down to see Harry off at the teleport area.

Birmingham raised an eyebrow.

"The look up utter celebration at seeing the blue green hues of our planet." Jennings said with a smile.

"Yes…captain…something like that…I will be thankful to return to anything after…all this time on your ship."

"Can get like that occasionally…"

"Has it though?"

"For me? Never."

Harry was standing waiting for them in the teleport area itching to depart, Birmingham could sympathise with him.

"By the way…what's the date…all this travelling…" Harry started to count off days on his hand.

"It's about 2 weeks to Christmas, so no holidays for you yet." Birmingham said with a smile.

"Well you've got my report…I'll see you when…" Harry shrugged.

"When you've got all the explaining over and done with?" Captain Jennings asked with a chuckle.

"Something like that, and that reminds me, Hermione Granger." Harry asked looking at Birmingham.

"Hermione Granger?" Birmingham feigned a puzzled look for a moment. "We'll send you a letter, some time close to the end of school for you. Time and dates the usual."

"Thanks." Harry grinned walked swiftly into to stand in the teleport area.

A moment later Harry Potter dissolved to be rematerialised on the surface on the planet below.

Around 10 minutes later Birmingham and his fellow sorcerers were standing in the same spot awaiting them to target Night Wolf, Birmingham didn't fancy having to get from Hogsmede to Night Wolf at the moment.

"Hope to have you back soon Sorcerer Birmingham…"

Birmingham made a non-committal noise much to the captain's amusement.

"Send them back down to Night Wolf."

For a moment the ship and the captain dematerialised from Birmingham's view and then he was back inside Night Wolf command…and felt like he'd put on a lot of weight.

"Gravity…" Birmingham muttered to himself as he walked heavy footsteps to his office, dumping his bag full of ideas, plans and other work related things.

He walked calmly outside breathing in the fresh cold air, then the lines between his body blurred and shifted the next moment a wolf was bounding through the woods surrounding Night Wolf Command.

An hour or two later Birmingham walked back into Night Wolf Command, an amused Brigadier waiting for him.

"Better?"

"Over 2 weeks inside that ship Brigadier…2 weeks…" Birmingham shook his head as he ran his hands through his hair picking out a leaf or three.

"Come out for a pint Birmingham I'm meeting Doris…been a while since we talked…"

"With one less megalomaniac one the loose." Birmingham said.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart turned over another page of Birmingham's…well report was one word for it…except it was bound together in a large folder with recommendations, multiple lists of people and supplies right down to what sort of weapons they would need on his 'Research Base' of his. Birmingham must have had discussions with half of the Flinders' crew to work out more than half the information…what _they _wanted in a off of Earth base.

Birmingham hadn't been distorting his facts when he'd said he'd had nothing to do but consider this for the past…28…close on a month.

"Should have taken a trilogy or heptalogy." Lethbridge Stewart muttered to himself as he flicked read through all the information.

After a few hours of reading and making his own notes…Lethbridge Stewart frowned…there wasn't much he could fault Birmingham on with this work, it had been though out perfectly…and a large non-Earth based base would serve several purposes…as a second base of operations and placed somewhere out to serve as a stop in for ships instead of returning to Earth for supplies and basic maintenance…but close enough to have students, scientists…it would be their own university and research base for everything…something that neither Gibson Desert or Northern Highlands could accommodate…nor their current outposts which were constructed with singular purposes in mind…

Then there were the names… a few he'd met upon interviewing them, when they'd requested to work with UNIT…

Lethbridge Stewart instantly recognised the few highlighted names for who they were; Josephine Grant…Gilliam Brown (formerly Perpugilliam Brown), Melanie Bush and Elizabeth Shaw.

Liz Shaw was still working for UNIT, while she was at Oxford but she did some consultancy work for UNIT without actually knowing anything about Night Wolf's work.

Jo and he has last really spoken at a reunion dinner a year or two after her divorce.

Gilliam Brown Lethbridge Stewart only recognised briefly by name, she was one of Night Wolf's better xeno-archaeologists, but as yet hadn't been taken off Earth, pending a psychological…there was also the fact that she was 20 or so years older than her birth certificate.

The second last name had made a small name for herself developing computer software, she'd also 'called in' to UNIT London…but hadn't specifically requested anything, neither work nor assistance…her name had been connected with a electronic robbery in the early 90s…

Lethbridge Stewart sighed looked at Birmingham's proposals and corrected himself there was one admittedly large problem that he hadn't thought of…

Funds.

Night Wolf had a…well it was quite a large budget all things considered, but they needed a large budget.

But this would be pushing their limits just slightly. With the new ships already being built and those on the books to be built, along with Preston's proposed jump gate construction ship….Lethbridge Stewart looked at him computer for a second wondering exactly how much that ship of hers was going to cost.

Typing in a series of passwords he found the 'initial' budget for it.

It was a lot…much more than even the Gibson Desert Research Facility could find.

Birmingham's plan would need funding as well, both the Earth based ones and the off of Earth base.

Funding which currently was tied up, or more to the point used on what they already had on the go.

"We're going to need more money…" Lethbridge Stewart said to the empty office, which he thought to himself probably wasn't any better than talking to himself.

Alistair rose from his chair and wondered down the corridor and fixed himself a mug of tea, it wasn't the best solution, in fact he just wanted to get out of his office so he could think.

When he got back to his office he stared at the piles of paperwork, and the pseudo-paper work that occupied his computer.

Then there was the more pressing, or at least thing that required some genuine thinking rather than rubber stamping.

How to get more money out of UNIT, the United Nation and everyone else that put (a generally substantial amount) of money into Night Wolf.

Around 2 hours later and many budget sheets and sketches on various piece of paper littered around his desk Lethbridge Stewart restrained himself from chuckling to himself like an old enemy of UNIT used to.

His 'plan' Alistair smiled thinking of Harry, consisted of a little bit of coercion, some preplanning and convincing the UN that it was best to increase everyone's budget…but first he had to make an unpleasant call.

Flicking through a few buttons he sealed his office out from the rest of Night Wolf he didn't want to be interrupted.

Then he put through a call to Professor Fiona Preston of the Gibson Research and Construction Facility in Australia.

"Lethbridge Stewart…what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

"Professor Preston…why should I need a reason to call a fellow member of Night Wolf?" He asked trying to be pleasant.

"Because we see each other in a week's time and you only ever call when you need something…" She paused. "Or to try and convince me of something."

Lethbridge Stewart restrained himself from hitting the end button on this conversation.

"I do have a proposal for you."

"See." She said looking smug about herself.

"I'm forwarding a proposal Birmingham has come up with…just the bare bones of the idea…" He said hitting the send button, it was only a two page report he had written up, briefly explaining the need for more personnel and the suggestion of an off Earth base.

She actually looked surprised as she read it.

"Interesting Lethbridge Stewart…but…"

"Why should I call you before our meeting in Geneva?" He asked stopping himself from smiling.

"Yes."

"I've been looking through the materials allocation for the Gibson desert…along with the ship you're currently building _officially _you're also constructing a second."

She betrayed nothing.

Technically it wasn't unofficial, each of the subsidiaries of Night Wolf worked independently as well as part of the larger organization, and if they were able to make their supply go further it wasn't technically against the rules.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with that, we need all the ships we can get."

She nodded her head.

"How would you like to be able to construct even more?" Lethbridge Stewart asked calmly.

"How?"

"How much of your jump gate construction ship have you built on the ground?"

She stalled for a moment.

"The truth Preston." Alistair said gazing into the camera.

"Most of the control systems, the jump engine control relay, some of the support structures, we can put together most of the secondary systems quickly…why" She said after a moment.

"I want to give the ship to the UN."

Lethbridge Stewart raised an eyebrow as Preston came out with swear words he hadn't heard since his time as a Lieutenant, he could understand it was her and her facility's 'baby', and would be a proof of concept for a large zero-gravity ship…except there were a few problems…fore amongst it the money that it would cost, even the huge funding that the Gibson Desert Facility received which was he had to admit smaller than the Northern Highlands…

"Why Alistair?"

"Perhaps not give whole heartedly…it would still be an Australian designed and partially constructed ship…but it needs more funding than you have…plus by your engineer's own notes you're going to need some more engineers with expertise in zero-gravity construction."

"Fine…but why give it to the UN?"

"Because Professor, they have been requesting a degree more involvement."

"Without the hassle of setting up their own facility." She countered.

"Yes. Your ship…will need various people…who better than the European Space Agency?"

"The ESA, that's who you want in charge of my ship?"

"It hasn't even been built Preston…but perhaps a joint crew, on a UN vessel."

"What's all this leading to Brigadier?" Preston stared at him through their video link.

"More funding for more ships…we're going to need them, not just for mining, but research and if the theorisers in Geneva are right defence…"

"Especially as we move out into the universe." She muttered.

"Then there's the off Earth base…it makes sense to have something like a base to serve our ships rather than have them track all the way back to Earth…then there's the benefits of an all purpose base off of Earth brings." He said down the video link.

"And you think the UN is going to give us that big of a budget increase for one ship?"

"Not just that, more ships means better efficiency, a facility off of Earth would mean specialised training in an alternate environment. Plus there's the fact that you've already begun the ship…"

"Less of the bill for them to foot, have you spoken to Wynne about this?"

"I wanted to speak to you first."

"The more difficult to convince?"

"Yes…but there is something else."

"Really?" She asked amazed.

"We're also going to need to work closer with our governments or intelligence services to make the other half of the proposal work."

"That's in the long term, and workable. Let's get the money sorted first."

"Very well…Thank you Professor Preston." Lethbridge Stewart said with a smile.

"See wasn't so hard. See you later in the week General." Then the video link cut out.

Alistair leaned back and chuckled to himself, it wasn't battle against hoards of aliens but it was still satisfying when a plan begins to come together.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart smiled to himself as he walked out of the meeting, he…well they had got everything they had requested.

It seemed that the UNIT and through them the UN had been moving their money around preparing for such an event as an off planet base and if he thought about it, it would be the next semi logical advancement of their Research Outposts, but previously they had been too busy finding resources to consider a permanent base.

Night Wolf would additionally be receiving more personnel to liaison with the intelligence services in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Europe for when they began looking for more scientists, engineers and students for their new base.

One idea that Paul Wynne had suggested was _disclosure_, a word and an idea most people were in many places about.

In theory it would make their lives _marginally _easier, but in the more advanced theory by the psycho-sociologists within UNIT it would be a disastrous event, especially in the current climate, it was better that some fringe groups thought there _might _be aliens, than everyone _knowing_.

Even after the Martian landing of 96, where thousands of people had witnessed the event, it soon became an event of the recent past easily forgotten.

Moore and Winter had been pleased that the UN would be getting their own ship, wholly (more or less) their own, Preston even showed a detailed computer model of the (still unnamed) ship, it was 3 times the length of their current ships coming at around 1200 meters long with three experimental rotating sections which if he recalled correctly were partially based on an old Mars mission design. It was obvious that Preston had had the original plan redesigned several times since she last updated her computer system, but it would be a efficient and probably powerful ship in its own right…just probably not in a battle. It would though be able to carry all the components necessary for building a jumpgate, something their current ships couldn't.

"Fancy a pint Wynne?" Lethbridge Stewart asked as they exited the building.

"After 6 hours of meetings Brigadier?" Wynne chuckled.

"Don't mind if I tag along do you gentlemen You're not the only ones who were in that meeting." She said.

Lethbridge Stewart shrugged, he just wanted to sit down and drink something made from hops and be satisfied that he'd got more than what he wanted, if Professor Fiona Preston came along…she'd be buying the first round.

--//

_Not too many more chapters to go (I know I've been saying that for a while) but I know now how many chapters there are left (actually I don't, I write from week to week), but I know how much time (story time) there is left in Sorcery…so I know how much I have to work with here._

_So three chapters maybe four, maybe less it depends really how I pace everything out. But no more than four chapters (most likely) before the end._

_I am currently working on the sequel, so there shouldn't be anything more than the regular week's gap between the end of this story and the beginning of the next._

_This week's chapter was a little bit of an 'info dump', but as with the previous chapter there are some things I want to set in motion to explain for the future, (I want to have the possibility of having a big space battle, for which I want alternatives to my four ships; Firefox, Victory, Hattah, Flinders)._

_Thanks for reading._


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 45 – Christmas Fun**

Birmingham allowed himself to relax as he looked out across the gardens of Alistair and Dorris's home.

"Peaceful isn't it Thomas?" Birmingham turned to see Dorris coming out of the house with a tray filled with hot drinks and a plate of warm cake.

"It is calm Dorris…" Birmingham said as he looked out around the quiet gardens, the cool air hanging like the fronds of a willow tree on a still day.

"So what are your plans for Christmas Birmingham, Alistair has informed me that you're not minding the castle this holiday season." Dorris asked later when they had retired inside to in front of a crackling fire.

"You make me sound like a tyrant Dorris…" Alistair chuckled.

"I'm meeting some…friends you could say for a get together." Birmingham said looking into the fire.

"Oh…?" Dorris asked curiously.

"Yes…we're going deer hunting." Birmingham said casually.

"Your pack?" Alistair asked with a raised eyebrow.

Dorris nodded, she'd known Thomas Birmingham for several years and of his…ability for just as long, it was still something of an oddness to wrap one's head around that the man before her could change into something so…different…but then her husband had fought more things that defied belief, and was part of an organisation that liked to do the improbably on a daily basis…

Plus once she'd seen him do it there wasn't much else but to gape and want to pat him, they'd had a good laugh about that later.

"What about you Dorris what's Alistair got planned?"

"Barring alien invasions you mean?" She said with a critical glance at Alistair.

"There was an incursion…" Alistair defended. "It wasn't just because I can't stand that insufferable whelp at your office…"

"I am sure Alistair wouldn't invent aliens just to get out of social engagements…we've got enough real problems on our hands." Birmingham said in Alistair's defence.

"The Prime Minister doesn't seem to think so…" Dorris started.

"The Prime Minister is just elated that there _aren't _aliens…or other people wandering the streets costing him tax payer's money…"

"So…what are you two getting up to now that I've relieved Alistair for a week to recuperate?" Birmingham said quickly shifting the conversation.

"Winifred and Ancelyn are coming up for Christmas, it'll be good to see them and the twins again." Dorris said with a smile.

"Harry also gave me a list of some of his 'friends' who make a delightful scotch…" Alistair almost grinned.

--//

James Renwick sat back in his lab stirring the mug of cocoa and smiled enjoying himself probably too much.

It was Christmas Day and he was at work, that wasn't what made him smile, he was at work which meant he didn't have to spend Christmas with his family.

His family made a Dalek seem like an excellent conversationalist and peace activist.

James's brief wondering at what a Dalek would sound like after the amount of alcohol his relatives consumed during the Yuletide period was broken as a priority communication was routed to his lab.

"Yes?" He looked at the large screen on the wall as it swirled in a hiss of static into…a map displaying a signal source from inner London, the UNIT River Thames offices.

"Night Wolf do you read?"

"Reading you River Thames…" James pushed his half empty mug and tapped at his keyboard and rerouted the signal through UNIT's secondary transmitters, and boosted Night Wolf's own receivers.

The whole picture broke up in a block of digital break up before an image of a man in a military uniform crackled into view.

"Colonel Wheatley."

"Renwick." That was as much of a greeting as James was going to get, most likely because he didn't have a military rank. "Sending you details now…" A pane opened on the side of his screen as the data uploaded, occasionally pausing, something which shouldn't happen considering the (what was supposed to be) secure comms lines between UNIT.

"What's the problem Colonel?"

"Approximately 50 minutes ago craft materialised over Chequers and the Tower of London, we have only just reinstated jamming systems to contact you, all other systems more complex than a light bulb have ceased 51 minutes ago GMT."

James raised an eyebrow, he could see why Brigadier Bambera had this guy in charge while she was off… James shook his head breaking his momentary wondering and pulled up the data which contained a few very short video files, obviously taken before the whatever field affected them. The images were polaroids, obviously taken with the UNIT emergency information gathering equipment, simplest things beat the most technically complicated.

"Communication?"

"Negative."

"Have started any hostile activities?"

"Negative, there were raised levels of energy, however we are unable to determine further…"

"Due to their jamming field…" James muttered shrinking the image of the Colonel and bringing up the wider Night Wolf Command systems, checking the status of ships…the ASCS Hattah was just about to drop out of orbit…"

"Just a moment Colonel."

"Night Wolf to Hattah, standby in orbit for transmat relay."

"_Roger Night Wolf."_

"Colonel, standby Night Wolf will be down shortly…which ship appeared first?"

"Chequers sir, by 15 minutes." He said after checking his clipboard.

James nodded and grabbed the phone on his desk and put the Colonel on mute.

"This is Renwick, get two teams ready to go, heavy weapons…and make sure both power trucks are full…and the re-serviced jammers…Yes today…dunno…could be…yes bring those…no…I don't think they'd appreciate a daisy cutter…Chuck in the occlusion systems, if we can't get rid of it we can hide it until after the Queen's speech…yes…6 minutes." James stood up draining his mug and put the colonel back on.

"Colonel we'll be with you in 10 minutes, I'm sending a team with…some equipment and _weapons _to Chequers, I will be taking lead in this at the Tower."

"Confirmed sir." The Colonel said with absolutely no question.

"Good."

James walked swiftly down the corridor as he strapped on a tactical vest, checked the S/K-1 on his hip, the P-90 on his torso and the various other pieces of weaponry he'd grabbed from his lab as he'd left.

"James…just finished running a search on the mystery ships…" Tabatha Wilson, part of the Xeno-archaeology department within Night Wolf, came running up to him as he was almost breaking into a run going to opposite direction.

"Running is about right Tabatha…what is it?" He asked as they turned a corner towards the garages.

"The ships don't conform to anything in our databases…"

"Best guesses?"

"From what I the others could ascertain from the brief footage they're space capable…but…"

"But?" James asked pausing at the armoury room attached to the garages before ducking in and grabbing a container on wheels of ATRs and continued at a slightly slower pace towards the groups of Night Wolf personnel.

"But…from the description from UNIT London and the sensor ghostings that Hattah has just transmitted…they probably bunny hopped probably through some sort of hyperdrive into the atmosphere from the outskirts of the solar system…"

"Avoiding our ships and the moon monitoring."

"Yes…"

"Fine, continue to work out who and what they are, where they're from…"

"Yes sir."

"And how we kill them…or alternatively what they want." He called after her.

--//

James shook off the vestiges of the transmat and wished that he hadn't drunk the rest of his cocoa, in fact he wished he hadn't eaten anything today.

But pushed it aside as the truck leap forward toward the Tower of London.

They were all silent, well except for the noise of the engine and the subtler noise of the jamming device at the rear of the cabin, one deliberately placed to give the truck coverage, in case of…

Well that…James thought to himself.

Above the Tower of London hung a boxy shaped craft maybe 300 meters long and 150 wide it looked like an upside down catamaran, painted opalescent green.

They drove right past the UNIT people into the courtyard.

James jumped as they stopped.

"Sergeant."

"Yes sir?"

"Break out the launchers set them up there and there…" The launchers were a pet project of the weapons department that Renwick had been overseeing, they were complete but hadn't done their final UNIT firing range trials…mainly because they punched through anything they came into contact with. They missiles contatined an explosive mix that he'd concocted with the Apothecary department…but they were environmentally safe…except they blew things up…which he hoped would satisfy the UN…

"Sergeant, also get the jammers and occlusion gear out and ready…I'll deal with UNIT."

"Sir." The Sergeant saluted, which James wasn't sure if he required a salute or not…

"Renwick."

"Colonel…sorry to barge on through…quickly sorted and all that…space ships over London landmarks shouldn't be part of Christmas…"

"No sir…" The colonel watched James as he ducked into the truck's interior grabbing a bag which he opened on the bonnet of the troop carrier truck.

"Sir…my men….?"

"Set up a perimeter no one in…or out, standard UNIT protocol on this one…everyone's been evaced?" James asked as he opened the bag removing a laptop.

"Yes sir. The Tower is in lockdown."

"Hope the remembered to close traitor's gate." Renwick muttered to himself.

James pulled a squat looking satellite dish which had a large suction cup on the base and pushed it into the truck's bonnet and then plugged it into the laptop.

"Night Wolf you receiving telemetry?" He said as he adjusted his mic along his ear.

"_Receiving data feed standby Renwick."_

Data fed along his laptop now reading everything from the small sensor attached to the bonnet of the truck…James looked up at the ship and wondered if it knew they were looking at it.

"_High power levels suggest scanning equipment in operation."_

"Any ideas Nigh Wolf?"

"_Not as yet…"_

"Fine…I'll send the standard meet, greet who are you comms package. Get linguistics standing by."

"_We're here, try not to get us blown up."_

James glared at the radio link and hit the transmit button.

"All teams standby for attack."

"_Launchers ready, occlusion field set up along North, West and East sides sir."_

"Activate them…last thing I want is the British public _seeing_ me blow us up." James muttered to himself.

The occlusion field was another mix of sorcery and technology based loosely on the method the fidellius was applied to the ships and various other methods of hiding vessels it used a variance of light and energy to create a 'fence' of not quite there, it didn't exactly remove the thing from sight but it made it damn hard difficult to see, especially with any form of electronic equipment, which tended to show static.

"_Registering high ranges of energy displacement…might be a com sign---." _

James cringed as the voice disappeared into static and then…and then things which looked like 3 wheeled armoured personal carriers…only with no wheels and several guns.

"Standby to open fire on materialised hostiles and ship."

"_Missiles standing by sir."_

"Colonel…" James turned to see the colonel standing behind him. "Grab yourself an ATR and join in the Christmas cheer." James said as he grabbed his laptop and moved around to use the truck as cover.

It was about 2 minutes later when the truck dissolved that James decided he'd had enough of firing bullets.

"All teams open fire, ATRs free, missiles free, fire at will, fire at ship, all weapons free."

The noise of the missiles was one of the things which still needed to be resolved…the velocity they moved at made them sound like a sonic boom, and the shock wave was only about quarter less destructive than a genunine sonic boom.

James hauled up the ATR at his feet and hit the trigger, it roared out together with another half a meter away from him the Colonel smiled as the thing they were shooting at exploded, the shrapnel making another beside shatter.

Above them the missiles were impacting, hard and fast some punching straight through the ship.

James cringed, that was another problem he watched those missiles and hoped they self destructed…the others were continuing to imapacted and then something exploded knocking them all to the ground…

"Gravity generator…" James muttered to himself from where he was forced against the grass…then the ship impacted in the courtyard exploding in a blue and green fireball which smelt vaguely of rotting peaches.

"_Jones to Renwick respond…" _James became aware of a voice talking in his ear as he recovered from the explosion…he looked at his watch as he pulled himself up…not 40 seconds after the explosion.

"Reading you…Jones what's happening on your end?"

"_Craft attempted to land troops…its now turning on an escape vector…should we attempt to destroy it?"_

"Negative…Hattah is in orbit…Jones clear up any hostiles…you know the drill."

"_Sir…Clean up is already on route." _Jones said in a knowing voice.

"Good…" James grabbed at the laptop hitting the comms button. "Patch me through to Hattah…Hattah, hostile craft exiting atmosphere, craft is hostile repeat hostile, take measure to eliminate."

"_Confirmed Night Wolf."_

Later, as the UNIT clean up teams were completing their work removing all traces of the alien craft, the residue and removing and replacing the grass which had been vaporised James Renwick was leaning back warming his hands on a bowl of pudding and custard when a woman in what appeared to be a Barbarella costume walked over and pulled up a chair opposite him.

James wondered for a second how much 'calming' brandy was in his custard.

"Not enough to make you start seeing things luvvy."

James nodded and put the bowl down and reached for his S/K-1.

"Nice bit of kit…UNIT's changed a bit since I was a part of it."

James stayed silent staring at the woman before him as she reached lit up a cigarette and pulled out a bright pink gun.

"Mine's far more compact your see…" She said holding it out.

James stared at it, it was compact…and most likely future technology…though maybe not alien…

"Who are you?" He said as he lowered his weapon to her torso.

"Thought I'd come and help…you didn't need it…not quite any way luvvy…been a while since I got involved in your _affairs _as it were…it's more _his _thing mucking in with you lot…causes more trouble I might add than me."

James started to get a worrying feeling…

"And you are?"

"Sorry luv…Iris Wildthyme transtemporal adventuress extraordinaire…"

James nodded and looked on the bright side…it wasn't the Doctor.

"How did you…"

"On me bus…" She said nodded over he shoulder, James stared and wondered how he'd missed…a bright red double decker bus…the number 21 to Putney Common…

"Perception filter, neat little gadget…more advanced than your…devices over there…" She nodded towards the occlusion generators.

"So you just came to...?"

She took a long drag on her cigarette before stubbing it out on the armrest of the plastic chair and pulled something from between her breasts.

James's finger tightened on the trigger and the woman…Iris Wildthyme laughed.

"If I was going to kill you luvvy it wouldn't be with a bomb…and definatley not between these…" She tossed the thing she'd removed from between her breasts, James caught it whilst still holding his weapon on Iris Wildthyme.

"Good with your hands…I can see why you like the weapons."

James ignored the innuendo and glanced at the…diamond…

"This can't be…"

"Koh-i-Noor, Empress of India some say it's cursed…"

"I've seen plenty of things which are meant to be cursed…they're not." James scoffed.

"Good for you."

"And you have the Koh-u-Noor because?"

"To help you UNIT men and women on this Yuletide day."

James stared at her for a moment.

"The aliens wanted it."

"You're quicker than those people that travel with _him_."

James nodded wondering if _He _was the Doctor…or just someone else Iris knew.

"What did they want with it?"

"Ooo…now that would be telling…I am…or I was an advisor…but you're much better at all this than you were…not always relying on _him_, though he'd hate me saying it." She said with a cackle, lighting up another cigarette.

"Any hints?" He asked as she pushed herself out of the chair.

"Fancy accompanying me luvvy, all of space and time in my lovely red bus…"

James stared at the bus, which didn't look like it could get down a high street let along time and space.

"No thank you Miss Wildthyme…but thank you for removing the diamond during this…event." James said remembering courtesy…even in the face of…time travellers, they didn't always cause headaches and security problems.

"That's alright luvvy…and just for that…they wanted it because that gem there bumped off one of their great leaders…or maybe one of their war criminals…"

James watched as she leapt up into the bus and shut the doors.

She waved at him from the cabin then the immediate area was filled with a groaning noise as older than old engines ground their way into full power and the bus dematerialised from before him.

James walked back to where his pudding still sat and wondered what the Brigadier would say when he read his report of the day's events.

--//

_This was meant to be an entirely different chapter, intending to begin the wrap up of events, and whatever. (Sorry about that)_

_But I'm on some pretty hefty pain killers and couldn't really think about future plot lines and bringing in what I initially wanted to do this week._

_So this is my 'Christmas Story', much like the new Doctor Who series; you've got a space ship (well two) over London landmarks, some big explosions, and some references to Doctor Who continuity._

_Plus Iris Wildthyme, transtemporal adventuress (who was briefly alluded to way back in an early chapter)._

_Next week will definitely see Harry, Hermione and probably some other people._


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: All characters, names, settings etc belong to their respective copyright holders, only much of the convoluted plot, Night Wolf and a few other things are of my own creation (but inspired from many things under copyright, which aren't mine).

**Chapter 46 – Endings and Beginnings**

Birmingham walked through the corridors of Night Wolf Command with a particular spring in his step, couple of days he'd had off from work over Christmas had done him wonders, plus spending time with al the others outside out in the wilds had been refreshing.

Even returning to Night Wolf and finding out they had had a visitation by some aliens didn't dampen his spirit, it had been dealt with, they even had some tech that they could use.

Birmingham knocked gently before walking into the Brigadier's office the contented smile on his face dissolving slightly as he saw the Brigadier scowling at his mug of tea as though it had just proclaimed sentience and had decided to work with the Americans.

"Something the matter Brigadier?" Birmingham asked taking his regular seat opposite the Brigadier.

"Have you seen this?"

"Renwick's report?" Birmingham asked, he got an incomprehensible mutter from the Brigadier.

"Yes, I read it a couple of days ago." The Brigadier made another noise.

"What's annoying you Alistair…is it that we had aliens over Christmas…that Renwick encountered Iris Wildthyme or that he fired experimental weapons in the inner London tourist district."

"Why didn't he contact me?" Lethbridge Stewart asked taking a sip of the tea that he seemed to have warmed just through glaring at it.

"Because I ordered him not to."

"What?!"

"I told Renwick not to contact you unless we had a fully fledged alien invasion or hostile take over on our plates, defined by 3 or more small ships or 2 heavy cruisers." Birmingham said dismissively.

"What about the experimental weapons, and the bullets, in fact Birmingham did you see how many weapons Renwick used on his outing?"

"He was thorough…" Birmingham started and earned a glare from the Brigadier. "Perhaps I shouldn't have appointed our head of weapons research to be in charge of Night Wolf Command over the Christmas break." He said as an after thought.

"Yes…" Lethbridge Stewart started. "Next year _if _we both need some time off, perhaps we appoint someone else…Xeno-archaeology perhaps…"

"Maybe then they'll just discover something in the ground that's been sitting and waiting for thousands of years, waiting to come out…" Birmingham said the last part with growl.

"Very droll Birmingham, and should that happen you're assisting the clean up crew." Lethbridge Stewart said almost too seriously.

"I received a response from Ms Granger." Birmingham said after a moment.

"She's quick, when did you send it?"

"Yesterday. The CCTV shows her dropping the response in person to the PO box we use in London."

"Was she discreet?"

"She didn't apparate in front of the box if that's what you mean Brigadier, in fact I had our good friends at MI5 to do a track of her through the CCTV network."

The Brigadier raised an eyebrow.

"They didn't object to you commandeering them?"

"Considering I explained that their 'terrorist' on Christmas day was…dealt with, they were grateful…they tracked her movements back through to Baker street tube station, and then she appears to have started her journey in the Regent's Park."

"Apparition?"

"Most likely, all other possible entrances were covered, also as it was raining there yesterday and she had no means to keep herself dry, it's very likely."

"Did she tick all the boxes and sign on the dotted line?"

"Of course."

"Very well then. What's happening with the _remanants _of Christmas day?" Birmingham raised an eyebrow at Lethbridge Stewart's emphasis on remanants…admittedly Renwick's weapons hadn't left a lot…and that which hadn't been subjected to his experimental weapons systems had been riddled with bullets or battle scarred from ATR fire.

"Finished in quarantine this morning. The Iceland facility has already requested the parts identified as being part of a hydrogen power facility. They want it to improve their own work."

"For the UNSCS ship." Lethbridge Stewart said.

"Yes." Birmingham nodded.

"Fine, I'll contact UNIT Iceland for the transfer."

Birmingham nodded.

UNIT Iceland, or Sameinuðu þjóðirnar Vitsmunir Sérsveit Ísland was mainly a research facility, for power systems on board the UNIT vessels, in particular it focused on hydrogen power plants which they were looking at becoming part of the back up power supply for their space craft, they were of course now were also working with more emphasis now on the United Nations Space Core Ship…or the big jump gate construction ship that the Brigadier had 'given' to the UN…for more funding, more personell and various other things.

As Birmingham left Lethbridge Stewart 'dialled up' the communications channel for _Sameinuðu þjóðirnar Vitsmunir Sérsveit Ísland_ (UNIT-Iceland), located in the outskirts of Egilsstaðir, a particularly calm area, bracing and very peaceful…and as long as they didn't make any _big_ mistakes while conducting their research it should stay that way.

--//

Birmingham drew in a breath of the cool air as he reappeared in Sorrento in Victoria, Australia, it had been some time since he'd needed to apparate such a distance, but with all their ships currently outside the solar system it was either apparate or fly…or alternatively tell Harry to get his phone connected.

Aside from dropping off his substantial collection of research he'd amassed during his research of his 'plan' Harry had been into Night Wolf in the 2 weeks following the end of Hogwarts. Birmingham could understand after such arduous schooling Harry would want to settle his life for a little.

Looking around and then pulling out a handheld computer he checked the map he had loaded onto it before leaving Night Wolf and started towards his destination.

Walking down the driveway towards the small two storey house Birmingham understood why Harry lived here rather than in what were most likely huge mansions in England that many old wizarding families held for various reasons ranging from political intimidation to boltholes in case of war.

Birmingham knocked firmly on the door looking to his right at the beach that the house backed onto, from here it appeared quite a private beach at that.

"Come in, it's unlocked!" Called a voice unmistakably Harry's from within the house.

Birmingham walked in noting the noise of the waves crashing was only offset by a radio station playing some where.

"I'm up here." Called Harry again.

"I would have thought you would be more concerned about people wondering into your…" Birmingham walked into the kitchen which opened out into a lounge room, Harry was sitting at the table with…a large assortment of weapons before him. "house…Harry." Birmingham finished with a bit of cough upon seeing Harry's cache of weapons.

"Only my close friends know exactly where I live, and of course you and the Brigadier, so what brings you down here?" Harry asked as he wiped his hands on a cloth and rose from his place making his way over to the kitchen putting the kettle on.

"Tea?"

"Please." Birmingham took the time as Harry busied himself with the process of making the tea to look around the rooms that he was able to see, it all very well made and kept, nothing had been changed since what appeared to be the 1970s or early 80s, but it was still quite modern and calm.

"So what brings you to my humble abode Birmingham?" Harry asked as they sat down.

"I came to request you accompany me for our meeting with Ms Granger."

Harry nodded.

"Hermione came to me over Christmas…very eager, though she's been relatively restrained when we were at Hogwarts…finishing…" Harry smiling to himself.

"Are you happy that it's over Harry?" Birmingham asked after a moment.

"It was a hellish 7 years Birmingham…the people that were lost…Sirius, Cedric…" Harry stared off into the middle distance remembering. "Quirrel, Tom Riddle…_time travel_…still can't believe we did that…it seemed so easy then…now…" Harry shook himself. "The Triwizard, the Ministry…Sirius…" Harry shook his head taking a long sip from his mug. "I'm happy Birmingham…it was something, the back stabbing the manipulations…the deaths…but there was also life, the living, the friendships, I wouldn't sacrfice any of it, it's all part of my life now, part of who I am…" Harry leant back into the chair. "So, when and where do you want me?" He asked after a moment.

"Where it started Harry, I thought some symmetry to all this."

"Tellus." Harry said after a moment. Birmingham nodded passing him an envelope from within his jacket.

"That's all the details of the when, where." Harry accepted the envelope placing it beside him.

"So how's everything at Night Wolf…sorry I haven't been in…I've been…busy.."

"Cleaning your gun collection?"

"Among other things." Harry answered quickly, before sighing. "Sorry, got used to Hermione asking me lead in questions like that and giving my 'ominous answers'."

"Vague and opened ended."

"And not very enlightening, yes generally it annoyed her, that'll change soon."

Birmingham drained his tea and stood.

"Well I should let you get back to it Harry, I have a great many things pileling up at Night Wolf." Harry nodded almost as though he _wanted _to have things that _needed _to be doing.

Harry walked with Birmingham out of the house into the back garden.

"One more thing Harry…look into getting your phone connected, I do enjoy a chat…but apparating is something I do only occasionally…"

"Ah yeah…" Harry started. "It's been on my to do list, but you know with the whole owls thing…and post…just picking up a phone to talk…probably would be easier…"

"Get someone accredited by UNIT to put in a secure line just in case as well."

"You think that's nessacary?" Harry asked.

"You never know Harry." Birmingham said giving him a nod, and then his face changing to momentary concentration and there was a feeling of the disruption of the air, but none of the accompanying sounds as he disapparated away.

--//

Birmingham leaned back in the function room of the library, he would need to keep this place in mind for future meetings, it was very quiet, modern and new, it had been built to accommodate a large school and housing complex that never eventuated leaving the town of Tellus with top of the range fully kitted out library with various meeting room and discussion facilities.

Glancing at his handheld computer he could see Harry waiting patiently outside a short distance away from the coordinates he'd provided Ms Granger with in his initial letter.

There wasn't a need for anyone on this (such as a surveillance team) but that didn't stop Birmingham from being paranoid, a few wireless cameras placed at points outside of library and two covering points of access in and out of the town…just in case, you could never be too careful.

Checking the time, and knowing from Harry that Ms Granger was _very _punctual, especially considering all the secrets Harry had been hiding from his friend, nessacary secrets, but she was from what Harry had told him, eager to discover all that she could.

As her arrival time ticked over he watched the screen and from nothing behind an oak tree a young woman appeared.

She was looking around seemingly expecting something…something other than what she was looking at.

"_Harry!" _She said surprised, staring at him.

"_Hello Hermione. I see you decided to come." _Harry said in jest.

"_Are you going to tell me…?" _She trailed off looking around her.

"_No, I'm just here as…a guide…"_

"Quite dramatic Harry." Birmingham muttered to himself.

"_Bit ominous isn't it?" _Birmingham smiled at Hermione shrewd response.

"_Cloak and dagger?" _Harry said as though considering her statement momentarily._ "Not really."_

Harry glanced at his watch before looking around, checking the perimeter, Birmingham looked at the smaller screens quickly enlarging each one checking the local area, the most dangerous thing that was happening was the beer delivery arriving at the pub.

"_Shall we go?" _Harry nodded towards the path that they were just off.

"_Where are we?" _She asked following him.

"_In a town I visited when this all began…" _He heard Harry say as he walked out of range of that particular microphone towards the entrance of the library.

Birmingham looked up a minute or so later as Ms Hermione Grange walked into the room looking more than slightly nervous, Harry stepped in a moment later closing the door behind him.

"Ms Granger, please have a seat." Birmingham gesture to the chair on a diagonal opposite him.

"Do you wish that Mr Potter stay during this…discussion? He can leave for the duration if you wish." Birmingham asked calmly.

"No…no, Harry can stay…that's ok right?" She asked quickly glancing over to Harry who nodded subtly to her.

"Of course Ms Granger." Birmingham stated once more calmly, Birmingham nodded to Harry, he walked over to the table and took a seat, some distance away at the other end of the board room like table, far enough away for Birmingham to have discuss while allowing Harry to be within a distance conducive to his support.

"Ms Granger you expressed an interest through Mr Potter of the organisation that you believe he has had an association with."

"Yes…I'm sorry I didn't get your name." Ms Granger asked as he finished talking.

"Birmingham." He said simply, almost everyone called him that, Doris and a few others being the exception that proved the rule.

"Birmingham?" She nodded to herself confirming the name before shrugging.

"Yes…Mr Potter and I are part of said organisation…"

"Harry…" Hermione Granger turned and stared across and down the table at Harry who just smiled knowingly at her.

Birmingham passed the first of the two almost booklets of paper to her.

"This is the Official Secrets Act, if you could just read and sign it…"

"Why?" She stared at him, her tone and inflection suggested that she knew why, or at best she knew if the Official Secrets Act was being offered it meant something and she just wanted to be sure of her supposition.

"Because what we are about to discuss is covered by the act…" Hermione flicked through the act scanning it quickly and then signing it. Birmingham was a little surprised.

"You do not wish to read…" Birmingham started, from what he knew of Ms Granger she wasn't the sort of person to just flip through and not…

"I'm sure Hermione has already read the act or at least a edited version."

Birmingham raised an eyebrow, the Official Secrets Act wasn't impossible to get a hold of, and in general the blank act didn't have anything _secretive _in an of itself in it, but even so you couldn't just walk into a library and pull it off a shelf.

She would have needed to go into London to one of the larger university's legal departments and even then provided 150 points of ID before she could gaze over it.

"So…?" She said passing back the act, which allow her to know some things but not a lot of anything important.

"Mr Potter and I are part of UNIT. The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce."

"The UN…knows about magic…?" Birmingham inclined his head.

"No…not everyone…Mr Potter and I are part of a section of UNIT, which covers other endeavours that are above and beyond UNIT's normal coverage…this Ms Granger is something you will not have researched." Birmingham said as he passed over the second grouping of papers. "The Official Secrets Act Amended Articles."

"Has…" Hermione Granger asked glancing down to Harry again.

"I've signed it Hermione, everyone does." Harry answered her coming question.

Birmingham watched as Hermione Granger took the time to read over every sentence of the Amended Articles, many of which were drafted for the particular organisation or person in this case it had been tailored for a wand user.

A short while later, which indicated she was a fast reader, as Birmingham had watched her and knew she hadn't skipped over any of the information Hermione Granger signed and printed her name on the various dotted lines.

Birmingham accepted the papers back briefly checking them and then slid them into a deep black envelope that was impervious to any exterior scanning techniques.

"Thankyou Ms Granger, or may I call you Hermione?" Birmingham asked and looked down at his computer and pushed the button which was flashing.

"Hermione's fine…so…"

"It is always better to see rather than be told Hermione." He said ominously. "Harry I'll meet you at the primary entrance position…" Then the room and Hermione disappeared as he reappeared on board the RSCS Victory.

"Thank you Lietennant…you got them all with no problems?"

"None Sorcerer Birmingham, your coordinates were spot on." Birmingham accepted the small bag of his survielance cameras.

"Back down to Night Wolf sir?"

"Yes, thank you Lieutenant."

Birmingham was being teleported, partly because he didn't want to apparate and mainly because the Brigadier discouraged direct apparition into the Night Wolf surrounds any of the personnel at Night Wolf who wished to apparate would walk to the parking area, or even some distance further given the various experimental systems being worked on at Night Wolf, something which Harry frequently ignored.

Rematerialising by the 'moat' which some what separated the large castle in which Night Wolf Command stood from land he radioed to the Brigadier and requested the boat come round.

A few moments later Harry and Hermione Granger clamoured over the rise.

"Birmingham."

"Harry, they're just about to bring the boat around…"

"Honestly why don't you just use a freezing charm or something?" Hermione muttered. Birmingham smiled.

"Please Hermione, feel free." Harry gestured with a shrug.

Hermione walked over to the small dock and levelled her wand at the water.

"Congelo Extremus Vox." She said firmly.

Nothing happened, which considering there were several jamming devices which blanketed the area around close area of Night Wolf was understandable.

She looked down at the water, kicking some dirt off her shoes into the water making ripples she nodded to herself.

Birmingham raised an eyebrow.

Then she tried again, though this time a simple illumination spell, she watcher her wand as she said.

"Lumos." Nothing happened once more, Birmingham watched as she walked back away and up the rise, again trying, with no result, then she walked calmly back down to them, pocketing her wand and faced himself and Harry.

"Some sort of jamming device, like radar jamming or something?"

Birmingham smiled knowing that she was definitely _not_ going to freak out…though she might ask a lot of questions.

"I think you will enjoy it here Hermione." He said as the boat arrived.

"Really? I just left one castle that tried to kill me and my friends for 7 years." She said looking at the large castle before them.

"The final year there was nothing in the castle. Even the 6th year…"

"There was Snape! Not to mention all the Death Eaters in training, not just the ones from Slytherin!" She said with wild eyes.

"Point taken." Harry sighed as he stepped onto the boat as it took them the short distance to an unassuming piece of brick work, which dissolved to show a blast…and everything else proof door.

Birmingham led them inside.

"Well Hermione I'll leave you with Birmingham, I'll be in the mess…" Harry said patting her on the back as Birmingham pressed a button closing the outer door.

"You're leaving?" Hermione turned to him sounding slightly worried.

"Just a bit peckish, didn't have breakfast, I'm sure you'll find me once you're done?" Harry looked over to Birmingham.

"Of course Harry." Birmingham said watched Harry go.

"Allow me to show you around Ms Granger…Hermione…"

As they walked she looked around.

"Have to say already this is good…" She nodded at the lights.

"The lights?"

"Yes, bright, efficient…and not flame lanterns…I've had more than one essay singed because of those at Hogwarts." Hermione said with a shake of the head.

Birmingham smiled leading her to his Sorcery department.

"There is fire, here and there, but used wisely…and not for lighting. This is the department I am in charge of, one of many within Night Wolf…"

"Sorcery…that makes you a…"

"Sorcerer."

"So not _just _using wands…but all sorts, not just wanded magic but…oh my…" She went silent as they walked into the main part of the sorcery department where he had left several things half way through, it was a bit of a mess with an assortment of books, a computer trying to do match with the apothecary department over something he had in mind and various other things where people were working in the large open area, there were doors that led off to smaller work areas…and of course Hermione who had rushed over to the books, looking over them, then stared open wide at the computer and everything else in the room, slightly speechless.

Birmingham lead the almost…though not quite speechless Hermione back toward the Brigadier's office, he'd practically needed to expel her from the library, but throughout his introduction to everything he was very sure that they'd chosen wisely to bring Ms Granger to Night Wolf, an inquiring mind was always a good thing rather than a bad.

Birmingham knocked on the door and accompanied Ms Granger in.

"Birmingham, and Ms Granger…" Lethbridge Stewart watched her eyes flick down and around the office for a second.

"General…" There was a slight rising inflection, but considering there wasn't anything to immediately to suggest that he was a general, his clothing didn't immediately suggest anything, more comfortable and practical then dress uniform wise, or any uniform that gave a direct advantage over whomever they may encounter.

"Thank you Birmingham…" Lethbridge Stewart nodded to Birmingham nodded before leaving.

"Please have a seat Ms Granger."

"Thank you General…" She said slightly nervously, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I could see…the top of what looks like a report…on your desk, just there." She gestured with a finger.

"That's some good eyesight Ms Granger." She chuckled.

"You'd think after being knocked out, petrified…" She trailed off for a second. "And all the other stuff that it would have effected my eyesight…but…" She suddenly stopped, her voice dropping in tone slightly.

"But?" Lethbridge Stewart prompted after a moment.

"But…it's just made me see much more clearly…after Mr…well Birmingham has shown me around today, and what I know about what Harry has done…I am sure that my eyes can be opened a lot more than what I have already seen." She said with an air of seriousness.

"What would you like Ms Granger?" Lethbridge Stewart asked as he rose from his chair moving to the side of his office. "And would you like a drink."

"Tea, milk and one sugar please…and I'm guessing your first question wasn't regarding drinks."

"No, what would you like, now that you have left Hogwarts?" He said as he placed a mug in front of her as he sat back down at his desk.

"I…I thought…"

Lethbridge Stewrt smiled gently.

"We won't be pushing you out the door, if you wish it you will have a job here…but what else Ms Granger…Hermione…"

"I…I don't really…I mean…I hadn't thought about it…not really…"

"What did you think about, when you were at Hogwarts?" He asked calmly.

"I well…surviving…"

He chuckled.

"It does seem like that is a common theme…"

"I did think about…" She trailed off shaking her head, her short hair brushing the sides of her face as she did so.

"You know what I never really thought about, when I was at Hogwarts, it was so…_archaic_, you never really thought about it because you were doing all these things inside the world. The Ministry…it's changed, but it's still secular…I mean it's still run like an old artistocracy with all the rich families lording over the governing over everyone and changing the rules as they want them…it was worse, but it's not exactly better, just more liveable on the surface." She shrugged seemingly trying to clear her thoughts.

"When I was at Hogwarts, I wanted to know everything I could about this new world I found myself in and now that I know a lot about that world, the amzing magical world…it's like they stalled a couple of hundred years ago…I was looking at some information on child birth for a history of magic essay…women still die from child birth, just because they can't do something like a blood transfusion, or use something as simple as stiches or even a scarian…other things, medicine, lifestyles, land is still tilled with a plough…manned by usually a _muggle_ (she said the word almost with disgust) born, driven by magic of course but…"

Lethbridge Stewart nodded, he knew much of this.

"I don't want to become a farmer for some pig of a _wizard_ General." She said after looking into her tea for a short moment. "I don't want to be stuck in some dead end area in the ministry as they push pieces of paper around changingt the rules to fatten their bank accounts and stomaches."

"How would you like university Ms Granger?" Hermione stared at him for a moment.

"I…I…how…I've been at Hogwarts for the last 7 years…wouldn't that sort of hamper me attending any institution…I mean I'd thought about it, but I'd need to go and take my GCSE…"

"That is where we can help Ms Granger…an associate of mine will be able to assist you…even help you choose a subject…or more to focus your studies in…"

Hermione blinked speechless.

"You would of course be welcome to work here gaining extra experience…"

"…" Hermione Granger sat speechless for a moment before recovering herself. "Where…?" She said still slightly glazed over.

"My associate is at Cambridge, UNIT has a relationship there…"

"I…I…Yes…I would but…"

"Jolly good." Lethbridge Stewart smiled and glanced at the clock. "Harry is probably still in the mess, I'll collect some information for you and come and get you later Ms Granger…" He pressed a button, a moment later Birmingham entered the office.

"General…thank you…I…"

Lethbridge Stewart nodded with a smile.

Later, as night was settling in Lethbridge Stewart walked into the grove where Harry and Hermione were standing and talking.

Hermione had been showed various other elements of Night Wolf, at his insistance that it might help in deciding what subjects to pursue at university, he did have to agree with Birmingham, they might need a crowbar to get her out of the library…but she was a clever grounded individual.

The final part of the tour was to show her the real space craft, she'd seen a video of the RSCS Firefox taking off, but there was seeing it and _seeing _it.

From past experience it was best to introduce all that Night Wolf dealt with in one go rather in incremental pieces, otherwise the mind takes those small pieces of information and tried to assimilate it into what they already know, usually blowing it out of or under proportions.

Alistair Lethbridge Stewart gestured at a telescope waiting a small distance from the pair and handed a piece of paper to Ms Hermione Granger with a smile.

""The RSCS Victory is located at…Merlin…" She whispered to herself as she ran over to the telescope.

"Oh my…it really is…it really is a space ship…a space ship..." She shook her head as Harry walked up wrapping her in a one armed hug as they broke into laughter staring up at the infinite darkness.

--//

Lethbridge Stewart moved over to the side of the room looking out at that same infinite darkness and took a sip of the refreshing fruit juice.

The view was slightly different, after all he was standing inside the UNIT Moonbase, but the view was the same, space…

He was here, along with a few people who were going to be a part of the Uniter Nations Space Core Ship construction they were here to witness the first stages of 'official' construction on the ship…using parts produced by the Gibson Desert Research and Construction Facility of course…

He was also here to celebrate (slightly more discretely) along with Fiona Preston and Paul Wynne the safe and friendly Primary Contact with the Hith.

"Enjoying the view Alistair?" Wynne said as he joined him staring out the window.

"And the gravity." Lethbridge Stewart chuckled, he didn't mind the Moon's gravity in short amounts at least.

"Hello you two…" Fiona Preston walked over to the pair.

"Congratulations are in order for you Fiona and your crew on the Hattah." Alistair smiled, not a fake smile, but a genuine one, he raised his glass in a toast.

"Very much so…safe, friendly and successful Primary Contact…one for the UNIT books." Wynn said.

"Right next to all the unsafe, unfriendly and unsuccessful contacts…" Lethbridge Stewart chuckled.

"They won't be finding out straight away will they Alistair?" Fiona gestured the few people from the European Space Agency who had been cleared along with all the others milling around.

"Not at the moment, not until we have firm relations…we" He nodded to Wynn and Preston and towards Moore, McGeoch and Winter. "don't need to stuff it up by…sending the wrong message with the wrong people…and for now it is the Hattah and her crew."

Professor Fiona Preston grinned at the compliment.

"Hmmm…looks like they're ready…" Wynn said as everyone was moving away from the room.

They moved in small groups to a small train like conveyance which moved them from one side of the moonbase to another, closer (comparatively) to where the UNSCS ship would be constructed in orbit.

The area was more or less a storage area for various components, that could be decompressed.

The first parts that would be started today where just part of the large structure that would be used to support and set the parts of the ship in place as it was being built.

Lethbridge Stewart had surprised Preston with the information that he knew she'd constructed much of this support structure, something she _didn't _tell him, which probably meant she was going to re-use it for something else instead of on this venture.

The group of three were standing off the to the side watching on one of the smaller monitors, rather than one of the larger ones the other group were watching on.

"How many of those have you built?" Paul Wynne asked gesturing at the craft which was grabbing the first of the girders and moving out of the Moonbase.

It looked like a bigger more bulky thylacine with manoeuvrable arms and no weapons.

"Four at the moment, they were some what of an experiment than a full blown production craft."

"Still looks as though it has weapons, there." Lethbridge Stewart stabbed his finger at the image.

"Extra sensors for use with a transmat…"

"Have they fixed the transmat problem?" Wynne asked surprised.

"No." Both Lethbridge Stewart and Fiona Preston answered.

The problem was the moonbase was constantly under a low level occlusion field (a just in case measure), which meant that it proved unsafe for the transmat to operate, the teleport area was isolated for people to use, but as far as large objects there were still a great many bugs to work out, therefore all supplies had to be transferred directly from the ship to the surface, or they had to disengage the fields protecting the moonbase from any prying eyes, scans and sensors which _others _might have pointed at the moon.

"My matter transmission experts are still working on the problem…well problems…"

"Send through your data to my people maybe if we take different tacks at it we might work it out." Wynne said.

"And to me." Alistair said, Fiona nodded.

"So have you narrowed down the planets Brigadier? I've seen some interesting data coming in." Preston said after a short while. The ESA people and who ever else was up there with them were still watching rivetated.

"It's coming along, we may need to meet with our various people to discuss the final choice."

"Very wise, if we're going to make this a semi-permanent base and all…" Wynne nodded, agreeing with the Brigadier.

"Did you two get my last memo?"

"Which one Brigadier?"

"The request from the UN, transport craft."

"The 'non-lethal' craft if I recall the wording of the original brief…" Preston said looking around the room.

"Yes…is it doable…"

"Anything is doable Brigadier…but I don't like the idea of a non-lethal craft." Wynne said as he walked over and grabbed a jug of juice from a near by table, topping up everyone's glasses as they continued to watch the fist structure being assembled.

"I had a meeting with my contacts in the intelligent services and the military a week ago, they're ready and willing to assist us with whomever we need, they thought…'UNIT must be mad, enterprising and downright crazy'…when I introduced the ideas that we have, and yes they've all signed the Ammended Articles and know full well what we do down in the desert." Fiona said as Lethbridge Stewart started to open his mouth, instead he stared into his cup.

Fiona enjoyed a much liberal environment as far as working with various agencies outside of UNIT, there was much more willingness to work with them…the politicians who ever was in power still refused to know _all _the details of her and their work, plausible deniability and all that, than he and Wynne did in the United Kingdom…just because of how many aliens had attempted incursions there and the more 'active elements' of the wand user community in Britian perhaps made the government slightly more paranoid, but Lethbridge Stewart was working to bring more integration with UNIT and the British forces so there would be a better working relationships and such…likewise Wynne was investigating outsourcing some of his production for the ships, as Fiona did in Australia, with everyone under tight Amended Articles and Official Secrets Act documents.

The group turned as the other group of ESA and whoever else cheered, they each looked down and noticed that a section of girders had come together forming the first part of the structure that would hold the United Nations Space Core Ship.

"Were we ever that jubilant?" Lethbridge Stewart muttered.

"I seem to recall we were both rather…excited when the Victory first launched." Wynne started.

"My 2IC has a photo of me jumping up and down in a rather embracing manner when the Hattah was first launched." Preston chuckled.

"It seems so easy to take it all in now, in our stride." Lethbridge Stewart said smiling.

"There's still some magic to it…" Wynne chuckled.

"In more ways than one." Fiona said with a smile.

Alistair Lethbridge Stewart chuckled and couldn't help agree.

Down below them on the Earth in a small, comfortable house Harry Potter had just finished a phone call with Night Wolf, organising to meet the Brigadier, who was 'out of the office'.

Harry Potter, saviour of…whatever and all that, was…going slowly out of his mind.

It had been barely 3 months since he'd 'officially' been into Night Wolf when he was there with Hermione.

Three months and he _needed _to be doing something, after seven years of always doing something he couldn't do nothing…he wanted to, needed to be doing _something._

--//

_Well there it is, the end of UNIT: Night Wolf – Beginnings._

_Don't worry, there is a sequel in the works._

_It is tentatively called __Alexandria Auction, __though this may change as I complete the first chapter. (and will be posted like this one in the TV-Xovers section)._

_It (will hopefully) have its first chapter posted by this Sunday._

_Thanks to all have read (and reviewed) over the past 46 chapters._


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